Bernie Ecclestone has blasted Formula 1's handling of the farcical two-lap Belgian GP.

The former F1 supremo, who has been a regular critic of Liberty Media since he was ousted as the sport's CEO, called Sunday at Spa a "disaster".

"You have no influence on the weather, but you do have influence over how you deal with it," Ecclestone, 90, told f1-insider.com.

"You could tell that nobody wanted to take responsibility and make decisions. In the end they did everything wrong together."

Ecclestone even sides with Lewis Hamilton, who he often criticises, for pointing out that the two laps behind the safety car was essentially a cynical move motivated by money.

"How can you do the two laps behind the safety car like that and then act like Stefano (Domenicali) and say 'There was no commercial reason for this!'

"That's not true," Ecclestone charged. "There are contracts.

"By starting the race and completing the minimum laps for a result, their contract is fulfilled. The organiser is therefore obliged to pay the rights holder."

When asked what he would have done differently, Ecclestone said he would have left the field circulating behind the safety car for "a lot more laps".

"On the one hand, to really hope that the weather will improve, but also so they don't look like they do now.

"Because it couldn't be more revealing than stopping after exactly two laps. Now everyone knows that it was only for commercial reasons," he added.

Recalling the teeming rain in Fuji, 1976, Ecclestone said: "It was our first ever global television broadcast. I wanted to start so I said to everyone 'I'm not forcing you to drive'.

"'If you don't want to drive, don't. But the race will start'. Niki Lauda pitted after the first lap and I thought that was fine."

Ecclestone is now calling on Liberty Media to give up the financial proceeds of those two safety car laps to the sodden Spa spectators.

"With the money the rights holders made from those two silly laps, they should compensate the fans who stayed in the rain for ten hours. There would still be enough profit left for them," he said.

Kimi Raikkonen has announced he will hang up his helmet and gloves and call time on an illustrious Formula 1 career at the end of the season…

The Finn, who won the world title in 2007 and will be 42 at the end of the season, made his debut in the 2001 Australian Grand Prix with Sauber. He returned to the outfit that became Alfa Romeo, with whom his deal expires at the end of this season, for 2019.

Alfa Romeo have yet to confirm their plans for 2021 with both seats open, and on the eve of the returning Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, Raikkonen revealed 2021 would be his swansong.

“This is it,” he said on Instagram. “This will be my last season in Formula 1. This is a decision I did during last winter. It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things.

“Even though the season is still on, I want to thank my family, all my teams, everyone involved in my racing career and especially all of you great fans that have been rooting for me all this time.

“Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy. See you around after all of this.”

After a debut year at Sauber, Raikkonen spent five years with McLaren, before moving to Ferrari for three campaigns. It was here that he won his one and only world title, pipping Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at the final race in Brazil in 2007.

After a two-year sabbatical from F1, when he went rallying, he returned with Lotus for two seasons before a second stunt at Ferrari that lasted five years. He then joined Alfa Romeo for what will ultimately be three campaigns.

Raikkonen has struggled for form this season, and currently lies 17th in the drivers’ standings, having scored just two points.

During his 344 Grand Prix weekends to date, he has taken 21 wins, 103 podiums and 18 pole positions and now has 10 further races to potentially add to that tally.

It remains unclear who will replace him at Alfa Romeo, with several names including Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas being mentioned.

“This is it,” he said on Instagram. “This will be my last season in Formula 1. This is a decision I did during last winter. It was not an easy decision but after this season it is time for new things.

“Even though the season is still on, I want to thank my family, all my teams, everyone involved in my racing career and especially all of you great fans that have been rooting for me all this time.

“Formula 1 might come to an end for me but there is a lot more in life that I want to experience and enjoy. See you around after all of this.”

The organizers of the Miami Grand Prix have announced the official name of the track will be the “Miami International Autodrome.”

F1 chiefs had originally proposed the idea of a banked last turn in a bid to offer a much longer period of full-throttle running than the original configuration allowed.

With passing places extremely limited on the narrow circuit, it was felt that this design would at least give a chance of some action.

Computer simulations show that the flat out banked bend should add another 340 metres of flat out action – on top of the 678 metres of straight that follows.

The banking was made so extreme – with a profiling of 32 percent, the equivalent of 18 degrees – to give drivers enough load through the corner to run with DRS open.

However, for the inaugural Dutch GP this weekend, the FIA has elected to play it safe and will only allow DRS to be opened after the corner.

Circuit chief Jan Lammers said on Wednesday: “That is the decision of the FIA. They just want to see how it goes this year and they want to collect data in real life.

“They’re not taking any risks and that’s understandable for this first edition in 36 years.”

Craig Wilson, who is head of vehicle performance at F1 and heads a department there that helps create and test circuit designs, was key to helping turn the banking idea into reality.

Last year he spoke about the checks that were run through to allow DRS to be open through there.

With the first idea for a banked corner coming from former F1 race director Charlie Whiting, Wilson’s team came up with a concept they thought would work.

"A comment came back and said: 'could we do banking?" said Wilson. "I thought about it, and it was: 'Okay well leave it with me, let me work out what level of banking would be required on the concept of could we, rather than have DRS open after the last turn, could we open DRS through the last turn?

"We went through it, we used our simulation and then we came back and said 'okay well you'd need at least this level of banking to be able to do it. I had assessed it with two different methods, in terms of car stability and the aerodynamic loss, and it looks like it can work.

"Then it was a case of, 'okay well can we physically do it?'

"The guys at Zandvoort went off, spoke to a few people and came back and said: 'Yeah, we can do it, we think we can do it, and we'd be very interested in doing it.'

"So we had conversations with the FIA to say 'look, this is what we're thinking, are you okay with that?' They said let's go through the numbers, let's look at what else is involved.

"As a process, we were getting all the right people together and we were able to actually come up with a solution – and a fairly unique solution to that situation."

Fans at Spa witnessed just two official laps behind the safety car after a rain delay of almost three hours before officials called off the race, declaring a result after meeting the minimum distance requirement.

The decision to run the two laps behind the safety car and award half points for the final classification sparked criticism from a number of drivers, including Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris.

Seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was the most vocal figure, saying the decision was “all a money scenario” and that fans deserved a refund after being “robbed of a race”.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said after the race that talks about any kind of refund had to be held with the race promoter, which is responsible for ticket sales.

In a statement issued by F1 on Wednesday, the series confirmed that it was exploring options for fans who attended the race on Sunday.

“Following the impact of the weather on the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday 29th August, Formula 1 and the promoter are working through various options for ticket holders, to express our recognition and thanks to them for their dedication and commitment,” the statement reads.

“We will provide further details as soon as possible as we want to thank the fans for their continued support and passion for Formula 1.”

F1 is understood to be confident of finding a fair solution after recognising the disappointment fans at Spa faced, prompting it to take action.

Domenicali has pushed for a review of F1’s rulebook in the wake of Sunday’s events, while FIA president Jean Todt announced on Tuesday that the two-lap minimum regulation would be reviewed at the next F1 Commission meeting in early October.

After the race, Domenicali rejected Hamilton’s claim that the two laps behind the safety car were only done for commercial reasons, saying it was “totally not true”.

“When we’re talking about racing, there is responsibility, that is a clear process, and those things are not connected at all,” he said.

Valtteri Bottas says there will not be an announcement about his future this weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix, following the news of Kimi Raikkonen’s impending retirement.

On Wednesday evening Raikkonen confirmed this will be his final season in Formula 1, with the Alfa Romeo driver retiring to leave a vacancy at the Swiss-based team. RACER understands Bottas will be moving to Alfa Romeo while George Russell replaces him at Mercedes, but Bottas says it will be a few days until anything is confirmed about his future.

“Maybe I do (know), maybe I don’t, same as in Spa,” Bottas said. “Things are going in the right direction. I’m happy and excited.”

As to when an announcement might come, Bottas said: “Not this weekend.”

However, the Finn did drop a hint that he’s set for a new project and one that he can focus on for a number of seasons.

“A multi-year contract would be nice — that’s something I never had before in Formula 1. That way I definitively could give full commitment to the team, knowing that the work will continue. It needs to be challenging, it needs to be exciting, it needs to be fun, in an atmosphere I’d really enjoy working in. I think those are really the main things I’m looking forward. Like I said before, I still have quite a few years in Formula 1. I really want to continue in Formula 1, for sure.”

Bottas also paid tribute to Raikkonen after the announcement of his fellow Finn’s retirement, praising both his career and also the way he conducts himself on track.

“Like he said himself, nothing lasts forever. There’s always time to try something new and he had an impressive and long career in Formula 1, one of the longest if not the longest one of all.

“I’m sure he had an impact on me as a youngster, I was following him closely when he started in Formula 1; I was following his season when he won the world championship (2007 -Ed.) At that time I was doing my first season in single-seaters, in Formula Renault, when he won his title with Ferrari.

“He’s obviously a big star in Finland — he’s a bit of a legend, and he’s always been fun to watch. Also, it’s been nice to go racing with him, because he’s one of the drivers you can go racing with and you’re quite comfortable going wheel to wheel with; he’s always had good respect towards his competition and that’s the way I like racing too.”

Valtteri Bottas will join forces with former boss Fred Vasseur at Alfa Romeo from next season, after signing a multi-year deal with the Swiss team.

The Finn, who won the GP3 title with Vasseur’s ART Grand Prix team in 2011, will leave Mercedes where he has partnered Lewis Hamilton since 2017.

READ MORE: Alfa Romeo move a chance for Bottas to emerge from Hamilton’s shadow, says Vasseur

During his time with the Silver Arrows, he played a key role in winning four constructors’ championships and secured nine wins and 53 podiums.

His future at Mercedes has been the subject of speculation for months, with boss Toto Wolff evaluating whether to promote the brand’s junior George Russell into Bottas’ seat.


Bottas’ experience will be key to Alfa Romeo, as they look to make a move towards the front of the grid next year – when sweeping new rules are introduced.

“A new chapter in my racing career is opening: I’m excited to join Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN for 2022 and beyond for what is going to be a new challenge with an iconic manufacturer,” said Bottas.



“Alfa Romeo is a brand that needs no introduction, they have written some great pages of Formula 1 history and it’s going to be an honour to represent this marque. The potential of the setup in Hinwil is clear and I am relishing the opportunity to help lead the team forward up the grid, especially with the new regulations in 2022 giving the team a chance to make a leap in performance.

“I’m grateful for the trust the team has put in me and I cannot wait to repay their faith: I’m as hungry as ever to race for results and, when the time comes, for wins. I know Fred [Vasseur] well and I am looking forward to getting to know the rest of the team I am going to work with, building relationships as strong as the ones I have at Mercedes.



“I am proud of what I have achieved in Brackley and I am fully focused on finishing the job as we fight for another world championship, but I am also looking forward to the new challenges that await me next year.”

Vasseur added: “It is a pleasure to welcome Valtteri to the team and we are looking forward to our journey together. With him, we bring to Hinwil a strong team player with experience at the sharp end of the grid.

“Valtteri has been an integral part of a team that rewrote the history books and he has four constructors’ world titles to his name: he is the right driver to help Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN make a step forward towards the front of the grid.



“Our relationship goes back a long way, to when we worked together in successful campaigns in F3 and GP3, and his talent and skills have been evident ever since, only growing with the time: I’m really looking forward to seeing him put his ability to work for the good of the team.

“The multi-year deal bringing him to us gives both Valtteri and the team the stability we need to build our project at a crucial time for Formula 1: we are excited for what the future holds in store.”

The news comes after Kimi Raikkonen announced he will leave Alfa Romeo and retire at the end of the season. The Italian team have yet to decide who will partner Bottas in 2022.“