Ecclestone denies that the team benefited from this and Murray has noted that, contrary to this view, at the end of 1982 the team had to abandon their new BT51 car, built on the basis that ground effect would be permitted in 1983.
Od leta 1978 je bil Ecclestone predsednik združenja "Formula One Constructors Association" (FOCA), telesa predstavnikov moštev, ki je zastopalo njihove interese.