Bernie tells bosses to buy GP2 teams
F1's chief executive said the investment made by McLaren in Lewis Hamilton, who was backed through the ranks from childhood over more than a decade, shows that it is a worthy way of putting winning drivers in grand prix cockpits.
Slamming team chiefs, the 76-year-old told The People: "I told these bloody people: 'Why don't you run a GP2 team and during the year you can sift through half-a-dozen drivers, and maybe you'll find the right guy?"
With heavy involvement by Ecclestone, Renault and Flavio Briatore, the feeder series GP2 was won dominantly by Hamilton last year for a team run by Ferrari boss Jean Todt's son Nicolas.
"To develop a driver from a child is relatively cheap compared to what you have to pay them once they are proven," Ecclestone continued.
Referring again to F1 team principals, he said: "They've always looked for other people to find the drivers they need. Lewis could have changed that."