Following the dispute between the F1 teams and Allsport – the company controlled by Bernie Ecclestone that manages trackside signage at grand prix events – over sponsor logos on the teams' tractor-trailers at the British Grand Prix, F1's commercial manager has poured more fuel on the fire in an interview with Britain's Evening Standard. While denying he was looking for a fight with the Formula One Teams Association, Ecclestone reckoned that the teams would blink first in any direct confrontation.
"I'm not on a collision course with FOTA; they're on a collision course with each other," Ecclestone (shown at left) told the newspaper. "Competitors will never be together. You can't expect 12 race teams to all be together on everything."
Ecclestone made clear that he fully supported Allsport's position at Silverstone.
"The teams were putting sponsorship on property that belongs to us," he said. "I explained to them that's fine and maybe we wouldn't have a problem with that if we could put some things on their cars..."