JUNE 19, 2004

Teams should not make rules, says Richards

British American Racing boss David Richards says that the Formula 1 teams should not be deciding on the rules of the sport.

"I think we've consistently proven as teams that we should not be setting the agenda," Richards told the media in the United States. "I don't think we're actually doing things in a very rational way. I think that in most businesses you consult the customer and you actually do a bit of market research and say here are the options, and I think the way to have gone about it would have been come up with three, four options, whatever it might be, and go out there and see what the TV audience and the TV production teams want themselves to make the job work for them."

In relation to the planned changes in qualifying Richards said he did not agree

"At the end of the day it was a request from Bernie who said, 'This is what I'd like to do,' and he put the thing forward. Quite frankly, he's accountable for the TV audience, he's accountable for the people coming through the turnstile, he's the promoter of the championship, so I'm afraid he got my vote on that basis. It's I don't think the right thing to do, however."