'Playboy' James Hunt wouldn't have survived in modern F1, says Ecclestone

Former Formula One owner Bernie Ecclestone believes that legendary F1 star, James Hunt, would not have thrived in the current, modern incarnation of the sport due to the many "silly" rules and regulations that are in place, saying his "playboy" lifestyle would also not fit in 2018.

The 1976 F1 champion was known for enjoying a lavish lifestyle off the track and became a media darling due to his antics which included wild partying and having many women on his arm for the paparazzi.

Ecclestone recently spoke to Hunt's son, Freddie, and claimed that Hunt was a character from a foregone age of F1.

“He just wouldn’t fit in, full stop, he wouldn’t react in a nice way to all the silly regulations and silly instructions.” Ecclestone told Freddie Hunt.

“These drivers, if they do something that perhaps the team owners or sponsor which doesn’t suit them they get a slap – don’t do that anymore. It wouldn’t of made any difference because he would have done the same thing the next day.

“All the silly things they do today, penalties for this and that, it’s stupid.

“I said a little while ago when I was involved, technical regulations are more important than sporting regulations they should have written across the top: don’t race. That’s what it all amounts to, all the regulations are there to stop people racing.”

After the takeover of the sport by Liberty Media, Ecclestone and the previous regime was criticised for not modernising the sport quickly enough to take advantage of technological advances, such as social media. In his opinion, however, television remains the fundamental medium to engage with fans.

“What does it really rely on, Formula 1? You need to have the support of the public to watch television, therefore the TV companies will pay of the rights,” he continued.

“It needs promoters to promote the event in a way that will attract the public.

“Really, all types of sports have changed from the eighties. Those days, really the most important thing wasn’t the finance, it was to do a good job.”