F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone Reveals $3M Docked From Manor Prize Money

F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that the Manor F1 team "will be docked" almost £2M ($3M) in prize money for "failing to race at the season-opener in Australia," according to Sylt & Smith of the London INDEPENDENT. Manor "raced against time" to get its cars ready and meet the deadline for F1 to transport its equipment to Melbourne for free. However, Manor "never made the grid owing to computer software problems." Ecclestone has already said the team "will have to pay for the freight" and has now revealed it will lose prize money too. Ecclestone: "We will deduct the race they missed from the prize money. They will miss one 19th of it and they are going to get a bill for the free travel that we gave them." The move "will give a boost to Manor's rivals" as Ecclestone added that "the money they should have got will get distributed amongst the teams that are racing." By traveling to Australia and "passing scrutineering, Manor avoided being thrown out of the championship" (INDEPENDENT, 3/25).