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30th
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From GMM
Bernie Ecclestone has been on a mission in Malaysia this weekend to turn up the volume in formula one.
Apparently alarmed that the sport's new, quieter tones will drive away promoters, sponsors and fans, the F1 chief executive has been hard at work trying to come up with a way to make the turbo V6s louder.
"We think there's a way," Ecclestone told the BBC late on Saturday.
"They're working on it and I think we're going to get it done."
However, not everyone likes the sound of all the bleating about F1's new 'power units'.
After Sebastian Vettel denounced the sound as "shit", McLaren's Jenson Button was quoted as telling the reigning world champion to "go and race somewhere else".
"My criticism was not directed at Sebastian, but more generally," the 2009 world champion is quoted by Germany's Auto Bild.
"I think that if we (formula one) are criticising ourselves, that cannot be good for the sport and the sponsors," Button added.
"Of course we have to listen to the opinion of the fans, but at the moment we can't change the sound anyway. So there's no point for us to be saying bad things about F1," he said.
Similarly, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg was quoted by Italy's La Repubblica as likening those who are complaining to "children".
"Do they not understand that formula one has to be contemporary?" the German added.
"We're going into emerging markets and new economies and it's right that we are raising awareness about the issue of clean energy. As drivers we're responsible for that too," said Rosberg.
While working to make the V6 engines louder, Ecclestone has also been spotted in an hour-long meeting with Donald Mackenzie, the CVC chief who is rarely seen at grands prix. None other than Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was seen at the same meeting.
None of the parties would comment on the topic of their conversation, but Horner has often been mentioned as the ideal successor should CVC be forced to oust Ecclestone over the Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption affair.
Bernie Ecclestone has been on a mission in Malaysia this weekend to turn up the volume in formula one.
Apparently alarmed that the sport's new, quieter tones will drive away promoters, sponsors and fans, the F1 chief executive has been hard at work trying to come up with a way to make the turbo V6s louder.
"We think there's a way," Ecclestone told the BBC late on Saturday.
"They're working on it and I think we're going to get it done."
However, not everyone likes the sound of all the bleating about F1's new 'power units'.
After Sebastian Vettel denounced the sound as "shit", McLaren's Jenson Button was quoted as telling the reigning world champion to "go and race somewhere else".
 |
| Jenson Button (Photo: McLaren/LAT Photographic) |
"My criticism was not directed at Sebastian, but more generally," the 2009 world champion is quoted by Germany's Auto Bild.
"I think that if we (formula one) are criticising ourselves, that cannot be good for the sport and the sponsors," Button added.
"Of course we have to listen to the opinion of the fans, but at the moment we can't change the sound anyway. So there's no point for us to be saying bad things about F1," he said.
Similarly, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg was quoted by Italy's La Repubblica as likening those who are complaining to "children".
 |
| Nico Rosberg (Photo: WRi2) |
"Do they not understand that formula one has to be contemporary?" the German added.
"We're going into emerging markets and new economies and it's right that we are raising awareness about the issue of clean energy. As drivers we're responsible for that too," said Rosberg.
While working to make the V6 engines louder, Ecclestone has also been spotted in an hour-long meeting with Donald Mackenzie, the CVC chief who is rarely seen at grands prix. None other than Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was seen at the same meeting.
None of the parties would comment on the topic of their conversation, but Horner has often been mentioned as the ideal successor should CVC be forced to oust Ecclestone over the Gerhard Gribkowsky corruption affair.