Mercedes demanded a meeting with Bernie Ecclestone after the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were shown just a few times during coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix.
It was claimed that Mercedes’ decision not to supply Red Bull with engines motivated the move on Ecclestone’s order, but that was denied by Niki Lauda.
“Bernie is not upset with us about the engine [deal], that’s for sure,” he said.
But Lauda remained baffled as to the true reason for their absence on television. However Ecclestone says both Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Lauda are fully aware of the reason.
“We talked about TV coverage a few weeks ago and came to the conclusion that midfield runners should be shown more often,” he told Germany’s Die Welt.
“Focusing exclusively on the leading cars is boring, but we’re also doing it to help support the midfield teams. And both Toto and Niki know these considerations and understand them. There was no manipulation.”
