Bernie Ecclestone doubts double points plan will continue

Bernie Ecclestone has accused Formula 1 teams of thinking in the "short-term"

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone doubts if the "stupid" scenario of double points being awarded at the final race of the season will continue next year.

Ecclestone had wanted double points at the final three races of the season but the teams, who he called "bloody idiots", did not go for the plan.

"I'm not going to propose the three races again," he told the Independent.

"I'm going to let them get on with it. I don't know what we're going to do next year."

Briton Lewis Hamilton leads the drivers' standings by 17 points from Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg going into the last race of the campaign in Abu Dhabi on 23 November.

If Rosberg wins, Hamilton will need to finish second to take the title. Under the old system, sixth would have been enough.

Lewis Hamilton (left) leads Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by 17 points before the final race.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "It would put a big shadow over the championship if it was turned by a technical issue."

However, Ecclestone accused the teams of thinking about the "short term" in not agreeing to his original plan of double points for three races.

"One race is stupid but imagine if it was the last three races," he said. "It means that somebody would have to have a 150-point advantage minimum to be sure they will win.

"The teams have not accepted it because they are bloody idiots. They are all mechanics. They think of their team in the short term."