Bernie Ecclestone backs Ben Sulayem V8 push but 24 races ‘wrong for everyone’

Bernie Ecclestone believes a change in engine formula is the “right thing to do” for Formula 1, and has admitted he misses aspects of running the show.

The former F1 supremo, who controlled the sport’s commercial aspects before Liberty Media’s purchase of the rights from CVC 10 years ago, is in attendance at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Bernie Ecclestone praises Ben Sulayem and labels 24-race calendar ‘wrong’

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The 95-year-old sat down with select media, including PlanetF1.com, in which he outlined his perspective on a wide range of topics, including the job that has been done by Liberty Media in growing the sport’s commercial appeal around the world.

“They made things a little bit more American, which is basically what they wanted to do,” he said, when asked about the influence Liberty Media has had on Formula 1, joking that the US entertainment corporation’s greatest achievement was in buying the commercial rights at the “cheap” price that it did.

“Otherwise, they’re doing all the things that look good, which is also important and, from that point of view, it’s positive.”

Under Liberty Media, the calendar has swelled to a record-breaking 24 races and, in tandem with that, Formula 1 has introduced the ‘Sprint’ format in which an extra, short, race is held on Saturday while removing two of the Grand Prix practice sessions.

Asked by PlanetF1.com whether this has diluted the prestige of a Grand Prix weekend, Ecclestone was unequivocal.

“Both things are wrong. 24 races is wrong for everyone, including the public,” he said.

“You lose a lot of people who miss a race and say ‘Oh, we’re going to see one very shortly in another couple of weeks or something.

“The sprint races… I’ve no idea what that’s all about.”

With Ecclestone attending only a select handful of races annually, revisiting the sport that he shaped for so long, he said that there are aspects of his old duties that he misses.

“Just thinking about it, I miss part of it,” he said.

“I miss putting things together on the financial side. They’re all there. Did I ever stop to the end of a race? No, so whether that’s good or bad, I don’t know. I’ve done my job.”

While Ecclestone’s own time in the sport has ended, his wife Fabiana serves as one of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s vice-presidents for Sport, and the Emirati’s tenure as president, which started in 2021, is one that has impressed him.

This week, the FIA revealed its strongest year, financially, in a decade, amidst increased commercial strength under the new commercial department established in 2023.

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“[Ben Sulayem] has had a difficult job to do, because he inherited things which he didn’t start, so he wasn’t at liberty,” he said.

“He was voted in to do something which he had no idea exactly what he had to do, so he’s since been finding out all the things to do and not to do, and I think he’s done a super job.

“Financially, he’s getting the FIA in the position it should have been before.

“There’s no reason why the FIA, if they make money, it’s criminal. They have an organisation to keep, and they need finance to keep it, and they need finance to do all that other things he’s doing to help all the clubs, generally help.

“He doesn’t take any money, he’s not in there for himself financially, so he’s there to do the best he can for the sport he’s looking after.”

With an operating profit of 6.7 million euros reported for the financial year 2025, this marks a significant turnaround from the financial position of a -24 million operating loss in 2021, while operating revenues increased by 75 percent from the same year.

“I’m trying to think of anything he’s done wrong, which he’s not,” Ecclestone said of Ben Sulayem’s administration of the governing body.

“It’s not an easy task to do what he’s moved into.

“I think he’s trying to get everything working fairly, and a little bit up to date.

“Unfortunately, like these things, you can’t be 1,000,000 per cent right all the time, but I can’t see anything that he’s done that he shouldn’t have done.

“There’s one or two things, which I hope is going to improve in the future.”

Asked what those improvements could be, he said, “Three-litre engines!” but said he “didn’t care” what architecture is chosen for the next engine regulations, whether that’s a V8, V10, or V12.

“Certainly, yes, I think probably all you [media] would be happy with that – I think that’s the right thing to do,” he said.

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