F1 chiefs not brave enough for Bernie
FORMER F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone believes Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix should have gone ahead and has accused the sport’s rule makers of lacking courage.
The rain-hit Spafrancorchamps race was abandoned after just two laps behind the safety car, with Max Verstappen declared the winner ahead of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. FIA race director Michael Masi determined that the track was unsafe but Hamilton branded it a “farce” and demanded that the 75,000 spectators, who stood in the rain for almost four hours, be refunded.
It is understood discussions will take place this week between F1, the FIA and the teams to avoid a repeat.
But Ecclestone (inset) said: “I would have told the drivers at 3pm, ‘It is raining, we are prepared to put it off for an hour but no matter what happens the race will start at 4pm and then it is up to you whether you take part or not. If you think it is dangerous, don’t race quickly.’
“But it is a different group of people now and they didn’t have the courage and they don’t want to take risks.” Twenty-three drivers have been killed at Spa-francorchamps but Ecclestone, 90, added: “In a dangerous sport, things can happen and people can get killed. “When people are cleaning windows in big office blocks the cradle can fall and they can die. And they don’t get paid an awful lot of money for doing it.
“If we were in the army and we were told we have to go to Afghanistan, we might have said, ‘Bloody hell, that doesn’t sound safe but we have to go, we don’t have a choice.’
“On Sunday the drivers had a choice.
“If they wanted to take a risk to get points, then it was up to them.”