London: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone says Singapore won’t extend its deal to host the Formula 1 when the deal runs out in 2017, according to an interview he did with a German publication.

Motorsport.com wrote that Ecclestone told Germany’s Auto Motor Und Sport on Sunday that “there is no gratitude” in Formula 1, referring to auto-makers and organisers who he said dropped the franchise once it had served its purpose.

“Look at what we have done for Singapore,” Ecclestone said, according to Motorsport.com’s translation of the German language report. “Yes, the Grand Prix has cost Singapore a lot of money, but we’ve also given them a lot of money.”

“Singapore was suddenly more than just an airport to fly to or from somewhere. Now they believe they have reached their goal and they do not want a grand prix anymore.”

Formula 1’s controlling shareholder CVC sold the auto-racing franchise’s parent company to Liberty Media in September in a deal worth $4.4 billion, but Ecclestone retained his role as chief executive officer.

Singapore held their first Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2008, which at the time was the largest sports event the city-state had ever hosted, and the first F1 race to be held at night.

Ecclestone believes the sport could be made more attractive by ditching the current one-race format for two shorter races, he said in a separate interview.

The octogenarian believes F1 would appeal more to modern audiences, sponsors and advertisers if there were two 40-minute races, separated by a gap during which drivers could be interviewed.

But he questioned whether the sport’s decision-makers have the “courage” to make such a seismic change to the traditional schedule.

“People have a much shorter attention span and a lot of sports are looking at introducing shorter forms of their games,” Ecclestone, the F1 chief executive, told the Sunday Times.

“The television audiences went up for Brazil. We had a long race with the heavy rain and a couple of crashes, but that meant we had two starts because of the red flags and people tuned in.

“We need to look at the traditional concept of one long race. Two 40-minute races with a 40-minute break in the middle when the drivers could be interviewed, cars worked on, would be attractive to viewers, the TV companies, the sponsors, and advertisers would love it.

“Cars would qualify on a Saturday as usual for the first race and that would set the grid for the second. It would shake things up with lighter, faster cars.

“But I don’t know if we have the courage to change. Times change though and it is something we must look at.

“All American sports have timeouts built in, mainly because American audiences can’t concentrate. They grow up with everything in 15-minute segments on TV. People are the same everywhere now.”

Ecclestone was also critical of F1’s current rules, saying they prevent drivers from being able to race properly.

“The regulation book should be retitled ‘Don’t Race’,” he said.

“They are written in such a convoluted way and there are so many that nobody, including the drivers, knows the right thing to do.

“The proper drivers are frustrated; so are the viewers, and so am I. It is crazy.

“We need to make it easier for drivers to race fairly. I don’t think they should deliberately bang wheels, but if they are racing each other and they go close and touch, so what?

“I often wonder if some of these guys want to race or just be out there in an F1 car.”

— With inputs from AFP