Mercedes Motorsport Dir Toto Wolff said that Bernie Ecclestone "might be gone as Formula 1 chief executive, but he might not be gone for good," according to GMM.
Wolff insisted the "inimitable Briton can never be written off." He said, "With Bernie, you never know if he's really gone or if he will be back somehow. But it's true that Liberty has not only got the majority of shares in F1 but also the voting rights, and with this is the right to occupy the management."
Asked if he thinks Ecclestone might try to "sweep back into power" somehow, Wolff "gave a mixed answer." He said, "This has happened repeatedly in the past, and of course you have to count on anything in F1. However, I basically assume that a situation has now been created in which there will be no way back."
As for Ecclestone's exit, expert opinions "are split." Some see the departure of an 86-year-old as a "great opportunity to finally modernize F1; others think the sport is now dangerously exposed without its 'dictator.'" Wolff: "Both are possible. The risk is that a lot of knowledge is lost. ... On the other hand, there are also areas where we can improve" (GMM, 2/2).
WORK CONTINUES: MOTORSPORT's Jonathan Noble reported FIA "remains committed to introducing cockpit head protection" for '18, despite drivers being divided on the idea of the Halo. FIA "has been working on approving a concept that will deflect debris away from drivers' heads in the event of an accident." The Halo "is currently the only design that has satisfied crash tests and been tested on cars, but it still needs formal approval from teams to get put into the 2018 regulations." According to F1's governance procedures, a majority vote by teams "is still required before April 30 for the Halo to come in for 2018, with unanimity required after that date" (MOTORSPORT, 2/2).
