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Row brewing over Ecclestone's F1 prize money shake-up

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<b>SYSTEM TO CHANGE:</b> A row over the future of F1's income distribution system is brewing as Bernie Ecclestone moves to change 'bonus' payments. <I>Image: AP / Luca Bruno</i>
<b>SYSTEM TO CHANGE:</b> A row over the future of F1's income distribution system is brewing as Bernie Ecclestone moves to change 'bonus' payments. <I>Image: AP / Luca Bruno</i>
Luca Bruno

Austria - A row over the future of F1's income distribution system is brewing.

Earlier in June 2016, Bernie Ecclestone declared that Toto Wolff should not get ready to bank Mercedes' huge championship 'bonus' payment because he wants to rethink the entire system.

"He can't do that," Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko told Brazil's Globo in Austria.  "We have a contract until 2020."

Complaints by teams

F1 supremo Ecclestone's comments come amid a European Commission investigation into the distribution and governance systems in F1, prompted by complaints made by Sauber and Force India.

Sauber chief Monisha Kaltenborn said: "Definitely we support the comments of Bernie. It may be that it relates to our decision to question the system with the EU."


Force India's Bob Fernley has a similar suspicion.

"There's something behind this initiative of Bernie's," the team deputy said.  "We don't know what it is, but if he's saying something now it's because something happened -- he knows something and needed to act."


Told, however, that the current agreements are enshrined until 2020, Fernley answered: "Yes, but if there is an EU decision, it will have to be abided by."

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