The RED rebels

Bernie: Ferrari may split from F1 ... and the future’s electric

BERNIE ECCLESTONE has warned that Ferrari are prepared to start a rebel world championship if they do not get their way in negotiations over Formula One’s future.

The sport’s former chief executive made the incendiary claim on the eve of pre-season testing, which starts in Barcelona tomorrow. He also envisaged the next generation of F1 cars being electric — a souped-up version of the pioneering, battery-powered Formula E series that began in 2014.

Ecclestone, now chairman emeritus after 40 years of direct control over the grand prix world, said: ‘Some people have a new series in mind. Sergio (Marchionne, the Ferrari president) has spoken to people about it. If he got up in the morning and decided to leave, he would leave.

‘He is in a difficult position. If the FIA don’t do what he thinks is right — and what would benefit Ferrari — he would go.’

Ecclestone handed Ferrari a bespoke deal to keep them in the sport until the end of 2020 — a $100million annual bonus and a veto over rule changes, perks that reflect the Scuderia’s status as the oldest and most glamorous marque on the grid.

He explained: ‘Ferrari got more than anyone else for one simple reason: they had been in Formula One longer than anyone.

‘The bottom line is simple — Formula One is Ferrari and Ferrari is Formula One.

‘Go anywhere in the world and they don’t think about Ferrari road cars; it is Formula One. I would hate to see Formula One without Ferrari.’