Ecclestone: We've lost a bit of the human side of Formula 1

Ecclestone weighed in on the ongoing spat between drivers; since Ben Sulayem took office, his reign as president of the governing body has been peppered with confrontations with drivers. From body jewellery to swearing during a year, the gulf between FIA and the stars of the F1 show grew.

The final showdown of 2024 (there will be more in the future!) between Mohammed Ben Sulayem was a clampdown on swearing by drivers, an act directed at Max Verstappen for his free use of expletives to describe his ill-performing Red Bull RB20.

Ben Sulayem reacted at the time: "We have to differentiate between our sport—motorsport—and rap music. We’re not rappers, you know.”

Reflecting on the headline-grabbing standoff between the FIA and Verstappen, the four-time F1 World Champion was unanimously supported by his fellow drivers: "I think we are going in the wrong direction. We are becoming too precise in everything, from the rules to the application of the regulations.

"We have lost a bit of the human side of Formula 1. We remember well how the drivers spoke in the past. I am not saying that it is right to use vulgar language, but it is normal that, sometimes, people feel the need to express themselves in a more direct way, without worrying too much about the words.

"In my day, no one had a problem with it, and I doubt that today there is anyone who is still offended by certain statements," recalled Ecclestone, who ruled F1 with an iron fist for half a century.

Max Mosley, who was FIA president and had been Ecclestone's right-hand man (aka legal eagle), 'sold' the sport to Bernie, who founded the Formula One Group in 1987 and controlled the commercial rights to Formula 1 until 2017.

On 28 June 2010, at the FIA offices in Geneva, delegates from over 70 national motoring associations around the world, who comprise the organisation's supreme body, its general assembly, met in extraordinary session and voted unanimously to approve a deal, recommended by the FIA’s senate, to grant the FIA’s commercial rights to Formula One (F1) motor racing until December 31st, 2110.

Thus the commercial rights to F1 were ceded to Ecclestone for 100 years. There was no auction for these valuable rights, as Bernie was the only bidder. The delegates were sworn to strict secrecy to ensure no leaks.

Throughout Ecclestone's rule of the F1 paddock, with Mosley first and after him Jean Todt, the FIA was content to reap the rewards of the deal with Ecclestone, who was allowed to do as he pleased with the sport.

But this changed, of course, when Liberty Media bought the commercial rights in 2016, whereupon Ecclestone was removed from his position as chief executive of the Formula One Group on 23 January 2017.

Initially, Todt stuck to saving lives on public roads with little interest in F1, apart from occasionally visiting the high-profile Grand Prix weekends. Which continued until December 2021, upon the arrival of Ben Sulayem.

The first non-European president of the FIA was always going to rattle cages as he reversed the Todt reign of anonymity to Ben Sulayem's high-profile, often confrontational style of leadership to make the FIA great again.

History shows that Ben Sulayem has been at loggerheads with Liberty Media, the Wolff couple, the drivers, and his own staff, who come and go like baguettes in a bakery. The spat with Verstappen was serious, so much so that the Dutch ace talked about quitting F1 to journalists.

Of the tensions, Ecclestone said, "I think the president is doing what he thinks is best, changing things according to his vision of how they should be. He is probably right, but we must not forget the importance of the human side in this sport.

"As for Verstappen’s threat to retire, I don’t think it is necessary to go that far. Ben Sulayem is in a difficult position because the drivers perceive him differently. At the moment, he is doing what he feels he has to do, without really expressing his personal opinion on the matter," reckoned Ecclestone.