Former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has conceded that he was wrong with previous criticism of Formula E and believes the all-electric championship is now at “Formula 1’s level”.
The ex-F1 CEO was one of the championship’s biggest critics when Formula E was born a decade ago and stressed that he would be stunned if the series continued after one race.
He even compared Formula E to a gardening item, highlighting his disapproval of the first all-electric single-seater series.
“I think those sort of things are lawnmowers. I am not very supportive of this,” Ecclestone told PTI in 2012.
‘Super, super, super’
Ecclestone previously criticised Formula E without having attended an E-Prix. However, his thoughts on the sport has now changed considerably.
He was present last weekend in Brazil – as was Felipe Massa, who has filed a lawsuit against FOM, the FIA and Ecclestone over the 2008 world championship and the ‘crashgate’ in the saga – for the São Paulo E-Prix, which was won by Sam Bird and consisted of 212 overtakes.
Reneging on previous criticism, Ecclestone told Formula E: “Ten years ago, I thought the first race would be the last, so I’m very pleased to see it’s something quite super – technically, it’s at Formula 1’s level.
“It’s the first race I’ve been to, and it looks super, super, super.”
