Bernie Ecclestone says F1's rulebook is too confusing for fans

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that F1 needs to “have a very good look at all our sporting regulations” amid growing criticism of its complex rulebook.

Amid ongoing debate over how the sport can be improved to widen its appeal, F1’s penalty system has come under fire at the last two races as some teams start to exceed their penalty-free limit for power unit elements. Struggling McLaren-Honda have experienced the worst of the punishments and both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have been hit with unprecedented 25-place place penalties for Sunday’s race.

But with the grid only containing 20 cars, and the two drivers qualifying near the back of the field anyway, the McLaren pair have to serve the remainder of their punishments via early visits to the pitlane in the race.

Speaking in Austria on Saturday, Ecclestone conceded that such rules - ostensibly introduced to limit costs - have become far too confusing for fans.

“I think we need to have a very, very good look at all our sporting regulations,” F1’s commercial chief told reporters. “Don’t go over the white line, don’t do this, don’t do that, if you change your engine you go back 20 places…it’s not what the public understand.

“They (the fans) don’t understand and when they do understand they don’t care basically.”

Despite the long-running debate about the health of F1, Ecclestone believes that fundamentally the situation is similar to how it’s always been – although he said that the continued dominance of Mercedes isn’t helping perceptions.

“I think probably in the end there’s nothing more wrong than there’s ever been. There’s some people with a lot of money, some people without a lot of money. It’s always been like that," he said.

“There’s people always complaining about something. The winners never complain. The losers complain. All I’ve ever said is that it’s a pity that one team is at the moment dominating the sport.

“The product which we produce at the moment is a bit top heavy with one team winning a lot of races, probably too easy. So when Ferrari are getting their act together we’ve seen a big improvement and exactly the same thing happens with McLaren.”

However, far from being critical of the reigning world champions and 2015 title leaders, Ecclestone said the onus lies with their rivals to improve and make it more of a fight at the front.

“That’s what they [Mercedes] are supposed to do. I don’t think they are getting criticised for winning. I think people are saying it’s a pity, that’s all," he added. "Nothing wrong with what Mercedes have done, they’ve done an incredible job. Both the drivers are doing a super job, no complaints. The problem is not the people who are winning, it’s the people who are not competing with them.”