Exclusive Bernie Ecclestone Q&A: The F1 boss on tyres, calendars and his future

Martin Brundle quizzes Bernie Ecclestone on tyres, the 2014 calendar court cases and his future.

MB: But if you try to have a number that they can spend - a budget cap -you have the likes of Ferrari with their car factory and Red Bull with Red Bull Technology and two teams - they are just going to move the money around and you can't ever audit that surely.
BE: "The only way I believe it could ever work is if you say this is the maximum amount you can spend on Formula 1. Spend it on whatever you want to spend it on but that is it. The amount they spend on their motorhomes or if they have ten jets is separate - but it is the amount that it takes to race." MB: The 2014 calendar provisionally came out with 21 races on it...
BE: "But where did it come from? It didn't come from me." MB: You do the deals, New Jersey isn't on it, but they were making a lot of positive noises in Canada that it was going to happen.
BE: "They have been making a lot of positive noises since they started the contract. We have a contract with New Jersey and I hope they can honour the contract." MB: So this 21 race calendar including Mexico, Austria is confirmed, Sochi should be completed in time - that is speculative would you say?
BE: "We have 22 actually." MB: 22? That is a lot of races - do you think the teams can do that?
BE: "If I was a team owner, I wouldn't be too happy." MB: Haven't they made an agreement with you to limit it to 20 races?
BE: "Yeah." MB: Well how can there be 22 then if there is a limit of 20?
BE: "We'll have to talk about it, won't we." MB: At the FIA, David Ward has announced he is going to challenge John Todt for the presidency. What does it mean to you? What does it mean to F1?
BE: "Well nothing. Really and truly the president is the president of the FIA and it doesn't really make a difference who the president is." MB: There is a quite a lot of turmoil at the minute. There is no Concorde Agreement that binds the teams, to the championship, to the FIA.
BE: "Correct. The Concorde Agreement has always been this mysterious document that contains all the finances - which we already have done with the teams. We have made an agreement with the FIA, the only other thing that would be in the Concorde Agreement is the sporting and technical regulations." MB: So it doesn't concern you if this famous Concorde Agreement doesn't exist? Is it a problem?
BE: "No. It will." Is there a timeframe to that?
BE: "No." MB: Finally we are reading about the issues in Germany and the court case that is going on there. What is the status with that?
BE: "No idea. Quiet at the moment, peaceful." MB: Does it bother you? Is it a threat to F1? Is it a threat to you?
BE: "It depends what the outcome of the case is." MB: Do you lose sleep over that or is it something you have under control?
BE: "No. We have another one coming up maybe before the other case in England where someone is suing for a massive amount." MB: Is that water off a ducks back for you?
BE: "I deal with things when I have to deal with them." MB: Nothing happens in F1 without you around. Do you think about succession or is it not really your problem?
BE: "What will actually happen I think is that when I am not here Formula 1 is going to be run in a much more corporate way. I'm more entrepreneurial, but things will be corporate." MB: Don't you sort of want to hand it to someone?
BE: "Yeah, yeah if I could find someone that I could handover to I'd be delighted. They are either going to be really super and I wouldn't want to work with them, or they are going to be really lousy and I wouldn't want to work with them. They need to wait until I am not there and someone can sort out the right person or persons."