‘Bring back the noise’ says Bernie Ecclestone, who wants V8 engines to return to F1

Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula One, is readying himself for a fight with Mercedes after reiterating his desire to controversially bring back the roaring, visceral V8 engines of previous years.

Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone arrives to Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi on Friday. Srdjan Suki / EPA / November 21, 2014

ABU DHABI // Bernie Ecclestone, the chief executive of Formula One, is readying himself for a fight with Mercedes after reiterating his desire to controversially bring back the roaring, visceral V8 engines.

The F1 world championship will be decided on Sunday at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after an engrossing season of on-track fighting between Mercedes' two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico ­Rosberg.

Yet, off the asphalt, criticism has never been far away with much of it aimed at the sport’s decision to switch this year from the growling, guttural V8s to a greener, more energy-efficient and, crucially, quieter V6 turbo hybrid engine.

F1 purists have complained the muted engines have removed much of the sport’s tradition and appeal and Ecclestone is in agreement.

He has regularly spoken of his dislike of the V6 engines and on Saturday confirmed he is ready to push for change, despite opposition from Daimler, Mercedes’ parent company.

“This power unit is an incredible unit, but it isn’t Formula One,” Ecclestone said. “It’s like girls in the ballet wearing sneakers. There are some traditions and the noise in Formula One is important. It’s all part of the sport.

“Everybody would like to get rid of this power unit. The only people who don’t want to do that is Daimler.

“They spent a lot of money and have done a fantastic job so we shouldn’t really take it away – but we’re going to try.”

Ecclestone’s assertion that, with the exception of Mercedes, teams are in favour of a return to V8s is in contrast to the comments coming out of the paddock at Yas Marina Circuit this weekend.

On Friday, Claire Williams, the team principal of Williams-F1, said a fifth of the British marque’s budget is spent on their engine and that “making a U-turn so quickly, I’m not sure is a way we want to go”.

Christian Horner, the team principal at Red Bull Racing, questioned the high costs and called on the sport to “simplify things”.

Ecclestone was to meet senior F1 figures yesterday afternoon and said he would reluctantly consider their views.

“Now that we are a very democratic system we have to listen and follow what everybody wants,” he said. “But we have another system, too – be reasonable and do it my way. So we’ll see.”

Ecclestone, 84, who has ruled F1 for almost four decades, is used to getting his way even when he has faced stiff ­opposition.

On Saturday he took credit for ensuring this year’s championship has remained alive to the season-ending race in the UAE capital.

“The season has been good, at least with the two guys racing each other at Mercedes,” he said.

“Imagine if we had only one of those. I pushed for [Mercedes] to take Lewis because without him it would have been a ­disaster.

“That is also why I wanted to have double points for the last three races – I was hoping that by mid-season the others would catch up.

“Now we got lucky with the double points at the last grand prix because it has made a much better race.”

Ecclestone confirmed no decision has yet been made regarding whether double points will remain in the regulations for next season.

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