Bernie Ecclestone believes Manor had no intention of racing in Australia at the weekend, and intends making them pay.

Whilst the Race Stewards in Melbourne might have given Manor the all-clear, having been convinced that the team did all it could in order to race in Melbourne, others, including race fans, the media and Bernie Ecclestone are not so sure.

"We should have never ever, ever allowed Manor to do what they've done. It's our fault. I predicted this would happen," he told Reuters.

"They had no intention of racing in Australia. Zero," he continued. "They couldn't have raced if someone had gone there with a machine gun and put it to their head. It was impossible. They had no intention."

Whatever the south Yorkshire team told the stewards, some contend that the entire Melbourne trip was some sort of ruse aimed at securing the 2014 prize money, the team having finished ninth in the standings courtesy of Jules Bianchi's points finish in Monaco.

Under the rules teams are allowed to miss three races without penalty and with Marussia having missed the final three races of 2014 it is widely speculated that the Melbourne performance was just that, a pantomime aimed at ticking the relevant boxes and keeping within the letter of the law.

However, convinced that the team had no intention of racing Ecclestone says that it will now have to pay its own freight charges for the trip to Australia and back.

"We'll have to see now," he said. "They will have to pay their way to get there and get out of there."

"They are not competing so they have to pay for that," he warned.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Hondawho?, 17/03/2015 9:33

"There is an expression which says "When I do right no one remembers, when I do wrong no one forgets".

Although I suspect I will be shot down in flames on here for saying it, I have a feeling that B.E. is a fair man if you stick by the rules (his rules for sure but someone needs to be in charge and control of the body who are F1 teams as they could not do it themselves).

The costs for flying out the Caterham team to the last race in 2014 were borne by F1 not Caterham as he saw someone was trying to do something about a bad situation.

Manor it seems have played him at his own game but we on here are NOT in possession of all the facts of course.

Maybe now is the time for him to bring in someone who can work with him but one one hand that would be a poison challis and on the other a damm hard job.

Perhaps when posting we all need to look holistically at the situation perhaps?

Only IMHO!

"

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2. Posted by Peter W, 17/03/2015 8:39

"You have passed your sell buy date Bernie. Please depart with some dignity and grace"

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3. Posted by Frieds, 17/03/2015 6:32

"I think none of us are thinking like Bernie.
1. F1 is a business - to make money
2. F1 is a show - to make money
3. F1 is a sport - to spend money

I like the sport part of the racing...which spends money."

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4. Posted by Paul C, 17/03/2015 5:17

"Bernie's cold heart has shrunk two sizes. You're a mean one Mister E."

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5. Posted by Ro, 16/03/2015 20:58

"The rules are there Bernie, and honestly, I dont blame Manor. I hope they do turn up and run two cars cos "from little acourns to oak trees grow". I remember Alonso when he started....way down the back....I just wish the "show" was better. I put the volume up to full... still could hear the birds outside...."

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6. Posted by scf1fan, 16/03/2015 19:11

"So, does this means that Bernie/F1 can now keep the M/M prize money from last year without having to stand in line with all the other creditors? Whether M/M intended to race or not, I can't say, but it also sounds like Bernie is less interested in fixing the problem than he is in counting the money. We'll have to wait and see what happens when the next team is on the financial chopping block. "

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7. Posted by Hondawho?, 16/03/2015 18:19

"So if B.E wants to get anything done he gets someone to "stand in front of them with a machine gun".

We hope that is a rhetorical comment,but never the less that is how he works. In modern parlance it's called leverage and leverage has been used on him and he does not like it!

B.E has a team of staff working on legal contracts,nth is one may have escaped their attention, someone will pay that's forcsure!

If they get away with it, well done, if not once more money rules rather than sport. "

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Manor had no intention of racing says Ecclestone

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