Former F1 boss echoes Max Verstappen concerns with 'danger' warning

Bernie Ecclestone worries F1 is in "danger" of losing its fans, suggesting the championship is now competing with the all-electric Formula E series.

Those words come not long after Max Verstappen's fierce criticism of F1's new regulations, when he argued the power unit rules are "anti-racing" and compared the situation to "Formula E on steroids".

Whilst current F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali does not share those concerns, Ecclestone, who owned the championship for 30 years until he sold it to Liberty Media in 2017, is less convinced.

The British business magnate believes there will be "confusion" at the start of the campaign, with the extensive rewrite of the rulebook requiring a re-education of its fans, media and paddock personnel.

The 95-year-old also does not feel the regulations play into Verstappen's hands, contrary to the prevailing opinion that the complexity of the rules and the cognitive demands from within the cockpit are an advantage to the Dutchman.

"There will be confusion at the start of the season because everyone has to relearn Formula 1," Ecclestone said in an interview with RTL/ntv and sport.de.

"And the rules certainly don't favour Max Verstappen and his style of driving," he added, alluding to the aggressive, full-attack nature of the four-time F1 drivers' champion.

Ecclestone's concerns centre on the direction F1 is heading and what that will mean for its fan base. He underlined that the "DNA" of the championship is built around drivers, not engineers.

"It's less about racing," he explained. "But that's how things are developing: more regulations, more rules for the drivers, don't do this, don't do that."

F1's "DNA" is "that it's a drivers' world championship and not an engineers' [one]," Ecclestone said. "Formula 1 is now competing more with Formula E.

"Maybe the fans like that, but I don't think so. The danger is that we'll lose the fans. I sincerely hope I'm wrong."