“People hardly recognize him on the street.
“Generally I still believe that Lewis is the best champion that we have had in a long, long time. He manages to get to all different walks of life: red carpet, fashion business, and music – you name it. That is not your [Nico’s] fault or his. You two are just very different characters.” The interview was conducted in the build-up to the Monaco Grand Prix, and if there was any driver you could hope for to take it in the right spirit, it is Rosberg.
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The 29-year-old responded: “Of course I do [understand Ecclestone’s point].
“Bernie is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. Of course. I also do think about our sport and want to make an effort – but in my own way. I am Nico and not Lewis!”
• Ecclestone unhappy at McLaren
Rosberg was not the only man on the receiving end of Ecclestone’s preference for telling it like it is. Team bosses also came in for strong criticism.
On Toto Wolff, Mercedes head of motorsport, Ecclestone said: “The team principals should be more prominent. Take away Toto Wolff’s Mercedes shirt and send him down a street – nobody would recognize him.” Ecclestone also indicated a growing rift with Ferrari’s new team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, who has been publicly critical of the sport’s supremo this year. The Italian memorably sat in the stands during testing to complain at restrictions on the number of paddock passes this year.
Asked if Arrivabene was a good character for F1, Ecclestone said: “But only for himself and not for Formula One.”