The Englishman argued that the latest changes ratified by the World Motor Sport Council will lead to more spectacular races and breathtaking on-track battles for first place. He also couldn't help it from taking credit for the revised procedure, as it's practically a hybrid system of his beloved medal scheme, which he lobbied for earlier this year.
“It's a modification of my idea of medals, which I wanted to go down to bronze in third place, but this is a good start. The idea is to get people racing. Somebody that's second has got to try and win rather than thinking that if he happens to win he'll only get two (more) points - not a big motivation to try and get past someone,” said Ecclestone in an interview for BBC Radio 5 Live, after the WSMC meeting in Paris the other day.
“For what reason would they want to get past? If somebody's in the lead and you're in second, why are you going to want to take risks to get past for two (more) points?” added the F1 supreme.
He also agued that the current point system and title-awarding system was the main cause for the lack of overtaking in Formula 1. While doing the math during the race, a driver would simply not bother risking a perfectly good 2nd or 3rd place for a chance to go for 1st. It was the case of reigning champion Lewis Hamilton, whom Bernie blamed for not being more aggressive in the closing stages of 2008.
“On a couple of occasions when he could've and should've overtaken, he didn't,” said the 78-year old Englishman, referring to Hamilton. The British driver clinched the title last season despite scoring less wins than runner-up Felipe Massa. It was actually what triggered the controversy leading to the revision of the title-awarding system by the FIA for the upcoming seasons.
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