Ecclestone slates sprint qualifying as "unneccesary confusion"
Ecclestone slates sprint qualifying as "unneccesary confusion"
Former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has slated the sport for "mucking around" with sprint qualifying.
This weekend's British Grand Prix marks the inaugural sprint qualifying event, with traditional qualifying moved to Friday evening to accommodate a 100km sprint race on Saturday afternoon that will determine the final starting grid for Sunday's main event.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Ecclestone revealed his worry that the history of the sport would vanish should sprint qualifying become the norm.
"I don't agree with it," he said. "The minute you start mucking around with these things, the history disappears and that is not a good thing.
"People would say somebody has 70 pole positions but that has gone now. There is no such thing as a pole position.
"I don't think it is going to work and I don't think it will continue. It is an unnecessary confusion for no reason. Qualifying has always been an interesting part of the weekend and now we will just have another race."
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