Ecclestone wants new F1 agreement

According to a report in Monday's The Times, Ecclestone believes that a new deal could be sorted within the next couple of weeks which would allow teams access to the massive funds generated by F1's commercial activities. The current deal requires unanimous agreement between teams for any change to be made, something that has become increasingly difficult in recent times and sparked the recent rift between the FIA and heavyweight teams McLaren and Williams.

"We are bogged down with history and folklore," said Ecclestone. "We are racing with decisions that have nothing to do with our current circumstances. The regulations do not reflect today's values and what we need to be doing now. If everybody sits around a table, we could start work on it now, but I need the teams and the rest to say they want change."

Ecclestone also attacked the manufacturers that say they want to set up their own championship, the GPWC, when the current Concorde Agreement runs out at the end of 2007. He believes they want to takeover F1 without paying for the privilege.

"They [the manufacturers] wanted to come in because Formula 1 was a big car showroom for them and we are just helping them to sell cars," added Ecclestone. "The are just holding out to take control of F1 without paying any money for it. The whole thing has become a nightmare. Formula 1 doesn't need this sort of trouble and we need to find a way to negotiate a new Concorde Agreement so teams can be looked after and we can see the future clearly."