Formula 1 may need budget cap after all, Bernie Ecclestone suggests

Former FIA president Max Mosley's 2009 budget cap plan was ultimately rejected in favour of the Resource Restriction Agreement created by the teams.

In an interview with the official Formula 1 website, Ecclestone said he felt some teams were taking a delusional approach to their economic situations.

"Let's put it this way: there are still too many people in Formula 1 running around with rose-tinted glasses," he said. "They obviously like to see the world as they want it to be - wonderful, the sun is shining, isn't life delightful - and not how it is. The downside of these glasses is that they blind you to reality."

Asked what his advice so such teams would be, Ecclestone replied: "Change the colour of your glasses and tighten your belts. Stop spending more than you need to."

He suggested that a form of budget cap could be the best way of pegging back the better funded teams' spending so that struggling squads did not have to overspend to try and catch up.

"We have had this kind of problem for quite a while now as of course [wealthy teams] spend what they have," said Ecclestone. "You could install a mandatory budget for all teams - on the basis of the smaller teams - but [the larger teams] don't like it and fiercely fight against it."

When asked if he could foresee such a rule being imposed in the near future, Ecclestone said: "I would welcome it. Yes, I think it could happen."

Ecclestone also said he was not concerned about the growing trend of drivers having to bring money with them to secure drives.

"I don't like the phrase 'pay driver'. They have deep-pocketed sponsors who support them. What's wrong with that?" he said. "I have never seen a driver giving his own money for a ride."