Ecclestone misses the old Formula 1: "The world has changed"

Deceased legends

Ecclestone is now 90 years old and one of the hardest things about his age is that many friends around him have died. In the last two years, Niki Lauda and Stirling Moss, among others, have passed away and recently commentator legend Murray Walker passed away, all three friends of Ecclestone.

"It takes you away," Ecclestone admits in an interview with Telegraph. "It reminds me that I will follow them - probably sooner than I want to."

Walker's death was particularly hard on him. "I felt really bad for Murray. He did so incredibly much to promote Formula 1. A great guy," he says. Ecclestone himself, however, hopes to "be around for a while".

The world has changed

Ecclestone became the owner of the Brabham race team in 1971 so has been around the sport for many years. He looks back on those earlier days mostly with nostalgia. "I feel sorry for the people who were not in Formula 1 in the sixties, seventies or eighties. I'm not saying it was right then or wrong now. I'm just saying it was different," Ecclestone said.

Above all, he sees a different atmosphere between the different Formula One teams. "We all helped each other. If someone had an engine problem and someone else had a part left over, they would give it to him," he explained. Although that's not just down to Formula 1. "I think the world has changed. Formula 1 hasn't just changed. The world has changed."