Ecclestone plans to put brakes on F1 apathy
Michael Schumacher strolled to a record-equalling fifth drivers' title with unprecedented ease this season with Formula One fans deserting the sport as competition dries up.
Ecclestone's multi-billion dollar show has failed to capture the imagination of fans this season with even hotbeds of motor-racing struggling to attract punters.
Monza the spiritual home of Ferrari saw attendances fall by around 12,000 this season, while the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis has seen a drop of 50,000 since Formula One's debut two years ago.
Qualifying has been reduced to only around half an hour of action while Ferrari's superiority has seen races in Austria and the US ruled irrelevant by staged finishes as the Italian team flaunt their massive advantage.
Ecclestone is desperate to end that and offered a tongue-in-cheek solution to the Schumacher "problem".
"If Schumacher is 20 points ahead of Rubens Barrichello, then he has to drive with a car that's 20 kilos heavier," he told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "I promise, there won't be another season like this. Next year it's going to be a good show again."
Part of Ecclestone's revolution should see a shake-up in how races are covered.
The slump in interest in the sport could not have come at a worse time.
Last year's terrorist attacks on the US have seen a fall in sponsorship while rising costs have seen Alain Prost's eponymous team fold with Arrows absent from the grid since July likely to follow the same way.
Max Mosley, president of governing body, the FIA, has already announced cost-cutting plans which limit teams to using just one engine per car at each event.
But with Ferrari's 2002 budget believed to be around £200m he faces an uphill task as does Ecclestone if he is to find competition for Schumacher.
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