Bernie hails Hamilton but wants change

Eurosport - Wed, 17 Dec 12:20:00 2008

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that Lewis Hamilton deserved his Formula One world title, despite taking fewer wins than runner-up Felipe Massa.

FORMULA 1 2008 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) / Bernie Ecclestone - 0

Ecclestone has moved to deny speculation that his radical plan to replace the traditional F1 points systems with Olympic-style medals for the top three finishers had anything to do with dissatisfaction at Hamilton being crowned as champion in 2008.

The sport's commercial guru claimed that his new reward system would not only provoke more overtaking, but would also see the driver with the most race wins crowned at the end of the year, rather than allowing drivers to take the ultimate honour by dint of better reliability.

Hamilton, who survived a last race scare at Interlagos, pipped Ferrari's Felipe Massa by a single point despite the Brazilian winning one more race during the year.

"Lewis is a worthy world champion and nobody was more delighted than I was that he won," Ecclestone told the official F1 website, "He was destined to be a champion and it was just a question of when, not if, he would win.

"The only thing I was uncomfortable about was that, under the current system, Lewis needed to finish only fifth in the last race to win the title and I don't think the fans go to races or switch on their TV to watch a great driver aim for fifth place. They want to see the best drivers in the world battling hard for a race win."

Many have pointed to a flaw in Ecclestone's argument for the implementation of the medal system - quite apart from the fact that it removes any incentive for the sport's smaller teams to battle for position further down the field - that could see the title decided well before the end of the season.

While each of the last four championships would have gone to the wire under Ecclestone's proposals, more one-sided affairs - such as Michael Schumacher's 2004 campaign - would have been done and dusted as early as the mid-point of the season.

"I think that can happen under any scoring system if one constructor dominates with a superior car, but I actually think it is less likely under the gold medal system," Ecclestone insisted.

"With four or five races to go, a driver who is three or four gold medals down could still win the championship, which is far less likely now if the difference between winning and second place is only two points.

"This is Formula One, the pinnacle of world motorsport, and only the best driver should win the title. Being a Formula One world champion is not about being a consistent and reliable runner-up. It's about racing hard, taking chances and not settling for second best.

"Last year, Hamilton was leading the drivers' championship before he had even secured his maiden win. Likewise, after Canada this year, Kubica led the drivers' championship on points even though Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen had all won more races.

"Lewis and Robert are both extremely talented, but I don't think the system should produce that kind of result. It shouldn't be possible for someone to be crowned world champion without winning a single race, but that really could happen unless we change the scoring system.

"Back in 2003, we extended the points system down to eighth place which was great for the teams, especially the smaller ones, but it aggravated the problem with the drivers' scoring system because, by increasing the number of points for coming second from six to eight, we made the step from first to second place too shallow.

"That year, Michael [Schumacher] won the title from Kimi by only two points, but Michael had won six races whereas Kimi had won just one race. Kimi is a great driver and a natural racer, but I don't think it would have been right had he won the title in that situation. However, it nearly happened.

"[The medal system] will make Formula One a much more exciting spectacle because it will incentivise drivers to race to win. We should see much more overtaking, drivers will take more chances and they will race each other all the way to the chequered flag.

"At the moment, quite often we see drivers settling for second, third or fourth position, and the race can be dull in the final stint after the last round of pit stops. The drivers aren't to blame, they're racers, but the scoring system forces them to be too conservative. As things are, if they want to take the title, it is better to settle for a few, safe points rather than chase down the guy in front and risk going home with no points."

Ignoring the critics who oppose his brave new world, Ecclestone does admit that the constructors' championship should remain decided by points because the standings have more wide-reaching implications than merely determining the year's champion.

"I think we should keep that as it is, awarding points for places one to eight as we do now," he conceded, "For the teams, constructor points are purely a financial matter as they determine a team's share of the annual prize fund. Fighting for a point or two really matters to the teams further down the grid and I don't see any reason to change that."

However, whether or not his plan is accepted by the World Motor Sport Council - and it has been put on hold pending further 'market research' - Ecclestone admits that last week's cost-cutting agreement hammered out by the FIA and FOTA, has an equal chance of improving the show.

"The way to keep the championship wide-open and exciting is to reduce the cost that a team needs to incur to be competitive," he accepted, "I am very pleased that the teams have now seen sense on this issue and agreed meaningful proposals to cut their expenditure, as Max [Mosley] and I have been urging for some time now. I think they've all had a wake up call and have realised that their present levels of expenditure are simply not sustainable. What is more, the racing should get much closer too."

Crash.net / Eurosport

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  1. Bernie wont stop at anything to try and ruin LH ,Him­ and Max M must resign they are the best example of­ racism in sport, Max M aka Adolph H and his side kick­ Bernie aka Himriec Himler,i REPEAT MUST RESIGN we need­ more surpport this coz they think they untouchable ie­ do wot they make up rules as they go along to suite­ their personal taste, this must stop can we do it YES­ WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

    From Waleed w, on Tue 23 Dec 9:39AM

  2. Bernie wont stop at anything to try and ruin LH ,Him­ and Max M must resign they are the best example of­ racism in sport, Max M aka Adolph H and his side kick­ Bernie aka Himriec Himler,i REPEAT MUST RESIGN we need­ more surpport this coz they think they untouchable ie­ do wot they make up rules as they go along to suite­ their personal taste, this must stop can we do it YES­ WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

    From Waleed w, on Tue 23 Dec 9:39AM

  3. havent you heard of racing at least schummacer had a­ career but your sitting on your seat

    From Waleed w, on Tue 23 Dec 9:09AM

  4. i must admit after reading some of these posts Touron­ does have a point.
    Why did glok slow down so much in­ the last lap..
    Why was glok driving on the wet side of­ the track in the last few remaining bends allowing­ hamilton to take the inside DRY line to victory.­
    HHHmmmmmm.....seems a little suspicious to me...Can­ anyone enlighten me as to why Glok was on wet side of­ track in last few bends, considering he had slicks on­ and all
    Whats it all about..
    Why cant this question­ be answered especially by mclaren fans and especially­ by Doughnut Ray $%^&...
    Why has the evidence­ ie..the last lap of the brazilian GB especially the­ last few corners been removed from You Tube..
    Why do­ Mclaren fans keep running away from this question and­ the Truth..
    people keep saying wait till jeremey­ clarkson show..all will be revealed...
    i mean­ considering glok was on slick tyres why was he driving­ right in the wet line of the track on the last few­ corners..everyone keeps saying they are surprised he­ finished at all considering the conditions...Various­ posts state it was like an ice rink...
    So why was Glok­ driving in the WET on SLICKS on the WET LINE NOT/ THE­ DRY LINE on the last few bends....please tell im­ waiting and have been all Day and probably will be for­ a long time yet.­
    SHUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY­
    77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777­
    TIMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS­
    WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD­
    CHAMPIONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
    LOVE­ ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT­
    RAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
    THIS­ RECORD WILL NEVER BE MATCHED!!!!!!!!!!!
    ps...for the­ record any driver who won the title this year was going­ to inherit a phoney crown After the season weve­ had,,,HOLD YOUR HEADS IN SHAME MCLAREN

    From , on Mon 22 Dec 10:53PM

  5. I'm getting fed up with F1 and its politics. I wish­ the teams/drivers would act on their threats to abandon­ Bernie and start a new series! PLEASE!!

    From DF, on Mon 22 Dec 7:05PM

  6. Terrie, don't forget that Massa would not have won­ in Valencia either if he had been penalized for­ dangerous exit from the pits - Hamilton would have.­ Everybody else in the championship got a drive-through­ penalty for dangerously exiting the pits, except Massa.

    From Can_male, on Mon 22 Dec 6:09PM

  7. Bernie, do please stop going on, you've copied and­ repasted your opinion so many times, nobody cares what­ you think anymore, you're just looking very sad and­ desparate now. Lewis Hamilton won, come to terms with­ that. You can't spend the rest of F1 close season­ shaking and crying with your little model Ferrari in­ your hands reposting the same sad story. I do feel­ sorry for you mate. Take care!

    From bobtailgrove, on Mon 22 Dec 11:53AM

  8. NO NEED TO APLOGISE YOU ANSWERED NOTHING AGAIN,, GLOK­ MORE THAN ALLOWED HAMILTON TO PASS IN THE DRY INSIDE­ LINE DIDNT HE,, ITS NOT EVEN OPEN TO QUESTION REALLY IS­ IT..
    I TAKE IT YOU WATCHED THE RACE,,TRULIS TIME IS­ IRRELEVANT,, ITS PLAIN TO SEE CAN YOU HONESTLY SAY TO­ ME THAT GLOK WAS REALLY FIGHTING FOR HES PLACE WHEN­ HAMILTON PASSED,
    REALLY PUSHING WASNT HE ...DO ME A­ FAVOUR ,,BEING A HAMILTON FAN YOUR ONLY SEEING WHAT YOU­ WANTED TO SEE,, END OF GLOK ALLOWED HAMILTON TO PASS­ VERY TAMELY ITS PLAIN TO SEE,, NO WAY WAS HE FIGHTING­ TO HOLD ONTO 5TH PLACE,,ITS THERE FOR THE WORLD TO­ SEE,,AND AS FOR LOSING 18 SECS IN 1 LAP,,DONT CARE IF­ GLOK WAS DRIVING A SHOPPING TROLLEY ,,NO EXCUSES,,YOU­ KEEP DREMING,, ANY DRIVER WHO WON THE TITLE THIS YEAR­ WAS ALWAYS GOING TO INHERIT A PHONEY CROWN...LIVE WITH­ HAMILTON FANS AND ACCEPT..LOL

    From , on Sun 21 Dec 10:05PM

  9. Massa did not actually win one more race than Lewis.­ Lewis won the Belguim grand Prix and even though the­ title was stripped from him the fans no he won.

    From Terrie, on Sun 21 Dec 9:37PM

  10. I hope Mclaren stuff Ferrari again next season. If you­ want to see real cheating then look back at some of­ Schumachers antics when he drove for them.

    From nmarshall01, on Sun 21 Dec 9:03PM

  11. i must admit after reading some of these posts Touron­ does have a point.
    Why did glok slow down so much in­ the last lap..
    Why was glok driving on the wet side of­ the track in the last few remaining bends allowing­ hamilton to take the inside DRY line to victory.­
    HHHmmmmmm.....seems a little suspicious to me...Can­ anyone enlighten me as to why Glok was on wet side of­ track in last few bends, considering he had slicks on­ and all
    Whats it all about..
    Why cant this question­ be answered especially by mclaren fans and especially­ by Doughnut Ray $%^&...
    Why has the evidence­ ie..the last lap of the brazilian GB especially the­ last few corners been removed from You Tube..
    Why do­ Mclaren fans keep running away from this question and­ the Truth..
    people keep saying wait till jeremey­ clarkson show..all will be revealed...
    i mean­ considering glok was on slick tyres why was he driving­ right in the wet line of the track on the last few­ corners..everyone keeps saying they are surprised he­ finished at all considering the conditions...Various­ posts state it was like an ice rink...
    So why was Glok­ driving in the WET on SLICKS on the WET LINE NOT/ THE­ DRY LINE on the last few bends....please tell im­ waiting and have been all Day and probably will be for­ a long time yet.­
    SHUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY­
    77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777­
    TIMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS­
    WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD­
    CHAMPIONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
    LOVE­ ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT­
    RAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
    THIS­ RECORD WILL NEVER BE MATCHED!!!!!!!!!!!
    ps...for the­ record any driver who won the title this year was going­ to inherit a phoney crown After the season weve­ had,,,HOLD YOUR HEADS IN SHAME MCLAREN!!!

    From , on Sun 21 Dec 3:15PM

  12. Trevor C looking at the picture above it is killing­ Bernie also!!!
    Hopefully he can stew in his own juices­ like the other LH haters!!!

    From f1junky1000, on Sun 21 Dec 6:37AM

  13. LH is the world champion! It must be killing some­ people that that fact will never ever change. Lol!

    From TREVOR C, on Sun 21 Dec 2:24AM

  14. bernard / marnio,(if your not in fact the same person)­ go and get fecked with your stupid racist comments,­ McLaren cos they're better, british, had hamilton­ driving not like the bunch of over emotional women that­ run Fiat. Besides anybody who has inflicted such @#$%­ as the Panda and the Tipo on the world deserve to win­ NOTHING...

    From uselessmofu, on Sat 20 Dec 11:30PM

  15. i must admit after reading some of these posts Touron­ does have a point.
    Why did glok slow down so much in­ the last lap..
    Why was glok driving on the wet side of­ the track in the last few remaining bends allowing­ hamilton to take the inside DRY line to victory.­
    HHHmmmmmm.....seems a little suspicious to me...Can­ anyone enlighten me as to why Glok was on wet side of­ track in last few bends, considering he had slicks on­ and all
    Whats it all about..
    Why cant this question­ be answered especially by mclaren fans and especially­ by Doughnut Ray $%^&...
    Why has the evidence­ ie..the last lap of the brazilian GB especially the­ last few corners been removed from You Tube..
    Why do­ Mclaren fans keep running away from this question and­ the Truth..
    people keep saying wait till jeremey­ clarkson show..all will be revealed...
    i mean­ considering glok was on slick tyres why was he driving­ right in the wet line of the track on the last few­ corners..everyone keeps saying they are surprised he­ finished at all considering the conditions...Various­ posts state it was like an ice rink...
    So why was GLOK­ driving on the WET LINE/ NOT THE DRY LINE/WITH SLICKS­ on the last few bends....please tell im waiting and­ have been all night and probably will be for a long­ time yet.
    SHUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY­
    77777777777777777777777777777777777777777777­
    TIMESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS­
    WORLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD­
    CHAMPIONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
    LOVE­ ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT­
    RAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
    THIS­ RECORD WILL NEVER BE MATCHED!!!!!!!!!!!

    From , on Sat 20 Dec 9:41PM

  16. NO NEED TO APLOGISE YOU ANSWERED NOTHING AGAIN,, GLOK­ MORE THAN ALLOWED HAMILTON TO PASS IN THE DRY INSIDE­ LINE DIDNT HE,, ITS NOT EVEN OPEN TO QUESTION REALLY IS­ IT..
    I TAKE IT YOU WATCHED THE RACE,,TRULIS TIME IS­ IRRELEVANT,, ITS PLAIN TO SEE CAN YOU HONESTLY SAY TO­ ME THAT GLOK WAS REALLY FIGHTING FOR HES PLACE WHEN­ HAMILTON PASSED,
    REALLY PUSHING WASNT HE ...DO ME A­ FAVOUR PAUL,,BEING A HAMILTON FAN YOUR ONLY SEEING WHAT­ YOU WANTED TO SEE,, END OF GLOK ALLOWED HAMILTON TO­ PASS VERY TAMELY ITS PLAIN TO SEE,, NO WAY WAS HE­ FIGHTING TO HOLD ONTO 5TH PLACE,,ITS THERE FOR THE­ WORLD TO SEE,,AND AS FOR LOSING 18 SECS IN 1 LAP,,DONT­ CARE IF GLOK WAS DRIVING A SHOPPING TROLLEY PAUL,,NO­ EXCUSES,,YOU KEEP DREMING,, ANY DRIVER WHO WON THE­ TITLE THIS YEAR WAS ALWAYS GOING TO INHERIT A PHONEY­ CROWN...LIVE WITH HAMILTON FANS AND ACCEPT..LOL

    From , on Sat 20 Dec 9:05PM

  17. hej TREVOR C
    LH DO NOT DESERVE TITLE

    From prezime5, on Sat 20 Dec 5:27PM

  18. Why do the nutters insist that Glock came off the­ racing line? You only have to look at the many clips­ around to see the falsehood of this argument. And I do­ hope they are not pinning there hopes on the­ "Clarkson Tapes" - I have already seen this­ item and its just a laugh at the "cry-baby"­ ferrari supporters. I think I will invite some around­ to my palace just to see the looks on their faces when­ they see it too - grrreat.

    From Ardsay e Giv-a-Shee, on Sat 20 Dec 4:01PM

  19. f1junky1000 the clip quite clearly shows that Glock­ stayed on the racing line. Lewis and the other drivers­ who went past Glock had to come off the racing line.­ But idiots like mouron will continue to say that Glock­ moved over - ie off the racing line. This is known as­ desperation as they are all LOSERS.

    From Ardsay e Giv-a-Shee, on Sat 20 Dec 3:55PM

  20. Well Glock is on the racing line from that clip!!!
    What­ more could he do to stop Lewis.
    Hatred has a way of­ blinding people to the clear facts.

    From f1junky1000, on Sat 20 Dec 3:52PM
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