F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone said that collisions between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have made Mercedes "more popular than their wins," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. He said, "Right now people think: they will win anyway. That’s it. There are no emotions about something that is so obvious. The two Mercedes guys crashing gives them more popularity than winning. Just look at what is going on since Austria; more positive publicity in my opinion. It’s shown that they let their guys race." Triple world champion Hamilton and Rosberg "collided on the last lap in Austria a week ago." The incident, the third in five races between the two, "has been the talk of the paddock with Mercedes announcing on Thursday that both would remain free to race but with stricter rules of engagement." Asked about Mercedes' rivals, the 85-year-old hoped Ferrari and Red Bull "could mount a serious challenge next season" but said that Ferrari "has become very Italian again." Ecclestone: "(Ferrari president Sergio) Marchionne is doing a super job trying to pull it all together. But he has an awful lot of things to do and to be in charge of that operation you need to be him seven days a week, 24 hours a day. It is not a part-time job." He also said that "he had yet to find anyone suitable as a successor." He said, "They didn’t want a job -- they wanted to travel, look at the bank account and be in the press. I have said it so many times before: we need another used-car dealer" (REUTERS, 7/10).
