Ecclestone wants 10 teams on grid, HRT support

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HRT boss Colin Kolles supports Bernie Ecclestone's view that there should only be 10 teams in Formula One rather than 12.

Last year HRT, Lotus and Virgin joined the grid, but by mid-season Ecclestone was making them feel far from welcome.

"All we ever want is 10 teams," Ecclestone said. "Lotus is a good name, I wouldn't want to lose them. But in general this year has been a bit of a nuisance because it has cost money to keep these teams in."

Currently the top 10 teams split a pot of prize money made up from half of the sport's TV and sponsorship revenues, with a sliding scale so that the higher a team finishes the more it receives. The two teams finishing 11th - as HRT did last year - and 12th receive nothing from this prize fund.

But despite Ecclestone's thinly veiled attack on HRT, Kolles agrees that F1 would be better off losing a couple of outfits.

"I think that the sport worked very well with 10 teams," Kolles told reporters at the launch of HRT's new car. "If 10 teams are running it is much safer for the teams because obviously the money distribution is different - if there are 12 teams that distribution is different to 10 teams. This is the major factor from our point of view. If we were one of those 10 teams it would give us greater security and this is the primary factor for this, and it's healthier for the sport.

When asked if he thought HRT would feature in the top 10, Kolles said: "I think so yes. I think that others are more desperate than we are to be honest with you."