Bernie Ecclestone: 'Caterham like poor Oscar Pistorius'

Bernie Ecclestone has compared the current situation with Caterham to "poor Oscar Pistorius", claiming that the struggling Formula 1 team has only gained notoriety due to its financial difficulties.

Caterham, who have pledged to race at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, came under fire from the F1 supremo for using a crowd-funding scheme to raise money.

However, Ecclestone has gone further by likening Caterham to the South African athlete, who was convicted of the culpable homicide his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last month.

He told Campaign Asia-Pacific: "They are not front-running teams. They've only got a name because of the problems they're in.

"This poor guy in South Africa, for instance, has got more interest because of what happened with him than when he was winning gold medals."

In the same interview, Ecclestone claimed that Formula 1 can live without attracting a younger audience.