Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone says he still has plenty of work to do in the sport before he thinks about retirement.
The 81-year-old Briton said: “There are a lot of changes that I'm going to make generally worldwide in Formula One so I want to complete those. So I think I'm stuck here for a few more years.”
Ecclestone, who is president and chief executive of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, has effectively controlled the sport for more than three decades.
He predicts that Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull, world champion for the past two years, will face a tougher challenge this season, which begins on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
We asked him about his expectations for the upcoming season.
Ecclestone:“Well, it's the first time we have had six world champions on the grid. Hopefully all six of them will be able to perform and it should be super racing, but I very much doubt whether that will happen. If they were all in the same car I suppose then we could sit back and say now we know who's the best. An awful lot is going to depend on what the best car is.”
Did he see Sebastian Vettel running away with the title as he did last year?
Ecclestone:“I hope not. I mean I think he won't have such an easy time as he had last year for sure. I'm not saying last year he had an easy time, but on the face it looks like it. I don't think it will be just as easy for him this year.”
What would he expect in the upcoming season for Michael Schumacher?
Ecclestone:“Well, I don't know whether he is going to win races, but I'd love to see him on the podium a few times. I understand the car is much better than it was last year and that's what he needs. I'd like to see him in a Red Bull.”
Schumacher's contract will run out this season. What would Ecclestone advise him to do?
Ecclestone:“I think it depends an awful lot on what happens this year. I'd like to talk to him mid-season. That would be the time to discuss these things.”
How did he rate the chances of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton (both McLaren) of beating Vettel this year?
Ecclestone:“I always think that Red Bull’s Mark Webber is maybe going to do a much better job than he did last year. But I think the two English guys, yes, I'm sure. I was very, very impressed by Jenson last year. I think he did a very good job.”
What is the main difference between the two drivers? Jenson seems calmer and relaxed compared to Lewis, so how would Ecclestone describe it?
Ecclestone:“Well you just described it. I think he uses the tyres to the best of his advantage and things like that whereas actually Lewis is my type of driver. He is a very aggressive driver and he is good. But Jenson thinks a lot more and doesn't make mistakes and looks after the car and the tyres. So I will be surprised if Jenson doesn't do what he did last year and be quicker than Lewis.”
Ecclestone has spoken in the past about Hamilton not making the right decisions with his management. Last season he had a few ups and downs; does Ecclestone think he has sorted that out and maybe learned from the mistakes?
Ecclestone:“Yes, I think he has grown up a lot. I mean he had personal problems which now I think are behind him.”
What does he expect from Kimi Raikkonen on his return to the track?
Ecclestone:“Well, he has performed much, much better than I'd have thought. I'm very impressed with Kimi. Looks like the car's good as well.”
Might he be the biggest surprise this year?
Ecclestone:“Yes, I think he is going to be the dark horse amongst everybody.”
Does Ferrari seem to have run into early trouble again?
Ecclestone:“Yes they don't seem to wake up for a few races, so let's hope by the time they get back to Europe things will change in that camp.”
Is Fernando Alonso in the wrong car?
Ecclestone:“I don't know whether he is in the wrong car. He could be in a better car, let's put it that way, at the moment. Whether that will remain like that is another story. I don't see Ferrari accepting the performance of the current car for too long.”
There are a record 20 races on the 2012 calender and, with and New York and Sochi coming up in the future, where is the limit in terms of the number of races?
Ecclestone: “Well I think we have more or less reached that. It depends on how important that is to us. I thought the limit was 16
when it was 16. The world is changing so fast and we have to cope up with the world.”
After two years teams such as Hispania or Marussia (formerly Virgin) haven't been able to challenge for points. What is their value for Formula One apart from filling the grid?
Ecclestone:“You know the strange thing, in every race there can only be one winner and somebody's got to be last. They are there competing. I can remember when Frank Williams was struggling at the beginning. He came on and won an awful lot of world championships - going through a bit of a rough time at the moment, but these things happen. They are there trying to be competitive.”
Is Europe dying out for Formula One?
Ecclestone:“When you think about it, we've got sort of 10 races in Europe, which is the same size of America but we only have one race in America. There may be too many races in Europe now. We're not a European Championship any more, we're a World championship and we need to be in all different parts of the world.”
Ecclestone will 82 this year. Is he healthy and fit? Has he thought about retirement?
Ecclestone:“I haven't got any plans for dying at the moment. I certainly wouldn't want to retire until I've finished doing all the things that I'm in the pipeline to do. There are a lot of changes that I'm going to make generally worldwide in Formula One so I want to complete those. So I think I'm stuck here for a few more years.”
What kind of changes, what are the priorities?
Ecclestone:“So many different things. Moving forward, not only the technical and sporting regulations in Formula One, it's the general composition of Formula One, as I said before the countries we're going to, new countries, so it's a lot of things.” - Sapa-dpa