Formula One - John Booth dejected by Bernie Ecclestones glaring statement
The boss of Virgin team was not happy with the statement put forward by the CEO of Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone that the struggling Virgin and HRT teams might not be on the grid before the end of the season. Bernie has gone on record saying that two of the new Formula One’s teams are “a bit out of their depth” and might be pulled out of the Formula One grid before the season ends. He went on to say that he would be happy if the grid drops twenty cars.
Lotus, Virgin and HRT have been consistently off the pace of the established teams, since they joined the grid this year. The teams joined Formula One in 2010 as a learning experience before promising a competitive season the following year.
"I would not be surprised if one or two of them did not make the end of the season," he told the Daily Telegraph. "I think there are a couple of teams in Formula One who really shouldn't be there. They are a bit out of their depth at the moment," said the President of Formula One.
The FIA is inspecting candidates for a 13th team on the grid currently but Ecclestone believes they will lose some of the tail-enders. Bernie targeted Virgin and HRT by saying that Lotus is a good name and that he would not want to lose them. This year has been a pest for FIA, since they paid a lot of money to keep these teams in the grid.
Bernie believes that even if one of these teams drops out, it will not affect the fans. The crowd will not get smaller or people will not turn of their TV sets. Everything will stay the same.
However, Virgin boss John Booth was not pleased with his statement. "I wasn't particularly pleased, because comments like that for a team like ours can do great damage," Booth told motorsport-total.com. "It's difficult for us at the moment as it is for other teams, and for all the new teams, and remarks like these are destabilizing,” said the dejected boss.
Virgin Cosworth has not been able to score a single point in this season and stands at the tail end of the constructors’ standings. Both of the drivers’ Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi have not been able to perform so well either however, both of them believe the team will make it to the end of the season, with a headstart the next season. Timo Glock, an experienced driver said that the team is working hard and is coming up with new ideas every now and then. He said that both drivers will try their best to perform as good as the established teams next season. Timo has been a part of the Jordan and Toyota teams, and was able to score three podiums with Toyota.
This statement will affect the teams severely as the FIA takes Bernie Ecclestone decisions very seriously. Bernie has been a part of the Formula One for more than 40 years. The British had previously worked as a manager for numerous teams, and is a part owner of Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. In 1972, the present F1 president bought the Brabham team that ran for 15 years in the sport. He became the owner of the Formula One Constructors Association and his control of the sport has been quite beneficial for the FIA. Bernie tried to compete in 2 races during 1958 season but failed to qualify in either of them. Ecclestone is generally considered as the primary authority regarding Formula One racing decisions, and is most commonly known as “F1 Supremo”.
Replying to Ecclestone’s statement, John Booth said that what the team has built up so far, is not bad at all. Many teams entered the Formula One and failed to qualify, some of them didn’t even manage a single race. However, Virgin is at the start of every race, and they are getting better with time. According to Booth, “the Virgin team is exactly where it was supposed to be.”
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