According to UK rag The Telegraph, Formula One president and CEO Bernie Ecclestone has allegedly described Honda’s exit from the F1 series, during a conversation at a party for jeweller Moussaieff, as “no great loss”.

“Just look at where they finished in the championship – ninth. They wasted millions and were a bad example to other teams.”

“Now they’ve gone, we’ve got a chance to bring in some sense to the teams about how much they should spend.”

While FIA president Max Mosley has expressed concern that Honda’s absence from the series may not be the only one in the next few years, Ecclestone went on to say that the the new owners of Honda’s team will be announced next week, adding that this latest news is simply par for the course.

“I’m keen for the team to be kept in place,” he said. “We have whittled it down to three serious potential buyers.”

“In Formula One, teams come and go. It’s not the end of the world. Only Ferrari has been there since the start.”

Is Ecclestone right in that this is nothing more than another turning of the page for F1, or are the current economic and fuel concerns starting to impact on the automotive world’s primo sporting event?  If Max Mosley’s fears are anything to go by, we may eventually see F1 become a V8 Supercar-like two-horse race before fading out altogether.