Ecclestone says Singapore here to stay

The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix was deemed a success by most last year as Formula One ran under artificial lighting for the first time. The Marina Bay area hosts its second race this summer in what is a five year deal with Formula One Management and Bernie Ecclestone.

“We are not going to lose Singapore, that's for sure," Ecclestone told Today Online. “As long as Singapore is there, we will be there. The feeling among the teams is good, everybody is happy with Singapore.

“As I always said it used to be for me a stopover on the way somewhere," he continued. “It never seemed like a destination. And when you go to Singapore and have a good look, you realize it is a destination, that it is a nice place with nice people."

Formula One has changed a great deal in recent times with new venues – such as Singapore – replacing some of the more traditional European races. Ecclestone has been key in taking the sport to the global market and he believes that some in the pitlane are forgetting how far the sport has come in the last few decades.

"Most of them in Formula One are a bit new," he said. "They haven't served an apprenticeship.

"They just don't know what we had to go through to build things up in the beginning to what they are today. They want to take whatever they can as much as they can and disappear."

The remarks can arguably be pointed towards the Formula One Teams Association which threatened a breakaway series this year before agreeing commercial terms to remain in the FIA sanctioned series to the end of 2012.

"A couple of them, I think, maybe thought they would like to do something else and be in charge of something. They are not even in charge of anything they are now doing anyway, so how they think they could be in charge of something as big as Formula One."