Bernie Ecclestone fears Lewis Hamilton's recent domination of Formula One is damaging its appeal and has called on the sport to rip up its rulebook in response.
Hamilton is on the verge of securing a second world championship and looks set to do so with multiple rounds remaining this season. Although F1 has experienced dominant drivers in the very recent past such as Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher, Ecclestone is concerned the sport will lose its appeal if Mercedes continue to win each year.
"We are in show business," he told Russian broadcaster RT. "The minute we stop entertaining we are in trouble. Our biggest problem is that people know pretty well who is going to be world champion this year. That can't be right. When people go to watch anything, they don't want to know the result before it starts. That's the rulebook I want to tear up.
"Although Lewis is very talented, his car is so much better than anybody else's, other than the guy who is his team-mate. There might be whole bunch of people who might be as good as him and they are never going to be exposed so that people know. That's what is wrong."
Ecclestone believes F1 needs to start from scratch with its regulations in order to put the emphasis back on the driver.
"I think a lot of our technical regulations are too stringent. It's really been like an old house and people keep adding new pieces to it and nobody really knows why we have added it -- I'm as guilty as anybody else.
"Maybe we ought to tear it up and have another look. We have become much too clinical with too many rules and regulations. I think the drivers, when the lights go out, should be on their own. They shouldn't have help and advice from the pits."