Mercedes and Ecclestone in bizarre row over Lewis Hamilton TV coverage

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the race – tightening his already vice-like grip on the drivers’ championship – with teammate Niko Rosberg coming second, but another deeply satisfying performance for the German team was soured by elements of the race broadcast – which seemed to ignore both cars for long periods.

Over the course of the 90-minute race at Suzuki, The Guardian estimated that Mercedes cars were shown on television for just six minutes – far shorter than would be usual for cars at the head of the field.

Team executives believe the lack of coverage was at the behest of Ecclestone.

“I was watching TV all day long, and funny enough I saw Saubers and a lot of Honda cars, but I don’t know why,” Niki Lauda, former world champion and now Mercedes’ non-executive chairman, told reporters.

“Somebody must do the filming here. I have to ask what’s wrong with him. I want to see Bernie next week and ask him what is the reason.

“At the moment I can’t say much but it was funny today that even the pitstop of Lewis – the leader – you only saw him driving out. You didn’t even see if he changed his wheels. So it was interesting.”

Ecclestone is reportedly angered at Mercedes after the team failed to reach an agreement with Red Bull about providing engines to the team for the 2016 season. Red Bull (and by extension support team Toro Rosso) are instead close to a deal with Ferrari, as they move on from their existing partnership with Renault.

Lauda added: “I spoke to Bernie on a couple of occasions about this engine deal and it was very clear [Dietrich] Mateschitz [the owner of Red Bull] never really approached us. Then Ferrari came and offered an engine and that is now being negotiated.”

The broadcast edit had practical implications for the team, with pit crew unable to easily monitor the progress of both cars. Team executive director Toto Wolff admitted that the lack of visual updates had caused problems for his team, but denied knowledge of any vendetta on Ecclestone’s part.

“It is always very difficult to please Bernie all the time,” Wolff said. “I need to find out.”

However, the Guardian quoted another Mercedes executive who did not wish to be name as saying: “I think Bernie was trying to flex his muscles and make a point.”

On the track, however, it is all smooth sailing for Mercedes. Hamilton is now 48 points ahead of Rosberg in the title race, with five races remaining.

From Ecclestone’s point of view, it would have been ideal to see Mercedes and Red Bull strike up a partnership. Red Bull are reportedly considering leaving the sport – which would take two teams, one of them a top contender, off the grid – which would be an absolute disaster for the impresario, yet a Mercedes-Red Bull link-up would turn dirty water into wine in one fell swoop.

Not only would Red Bull be recommitting to the sport, they would also have the same power unit as the sport’s dominant force – theoretically putting an end to the Mercedes superiority that has made things on the track such a procession for the last two seasons.

More competition means more interest in the sport, which ultimately means more money for Ecclestone - so its easy to see why he would push for such an agreement. For Mercedes, of course, the deal has fewer obvious positives – why should they just share their competitive advantages with a rival?

Ecclestone has previously highlighted Mercedes' engine dominance as a reason why other teams are reluctant to enter the sport - and clearly wants them to share more of their expertise than they currently do.

“The V6 is stopping other people that may want to be in Formula One from actually coming in because they think they have got to take on somebody (Mercedes) who is doing a terrific job and try to beat them,” Ecclestone told the Independent.

Ecclestone’s iron grip over the sport is such that it is eminently possible that broadcasters were instructed to restrict coverage of the Mercedes team, and it is a practice that could even have an effect on the team over time (sponsors will gripe about reduced exposure, hurting revenues). The fact Lauda and others would complain about it so swiftly indicates that will affect their business in some way if it continues - but perhaps not enough to make them cave.

Of course, Formula One’s issues are deeper and far more ingrained than one team’s unwillingness to share engines with another – but Ecclestone has always fought the battles that affect his interests, and not those that might help the wider sport. This would appear to be one of them and, while he might not get his way any time soon, he is certainly going to make his point.