Stoddart backs Liberty to improve F1

Former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart says he hopes formula one can up its game for 2021.

Over a decade ago, the Australian owned and ran a small backmarker team, and he says even then there were efforts to bring the costs down.

"Then in 2010 there was still talk of a budget cap of 40 million but it came to nothing," he told De Telegraaf newspaper in Hungary.

Stoddart, 63, is still involved in formula one through its official two-seater car programme.

But he remains a critic of modern F1.

"Since 2014 with these hybrid engines ... frankly it’s not for me," he said.

"Formula one needs three things. It has to be affordable, it has to be a business and it has to be exciting. And you know, it really shouldn’t be too hard to recognise that."

Stoddart backed Liberty Media to get the job done for the new commercial contract period beyond 2020.

"From 2021 there has to be a healthier situation for the sport," he insisted. "If Liberty Media manage to do that, we have a bright future. If the money is properly divided between the teams, the competition will be really good.

"But do Mercedes and Ferrari want that?" he wondered.