Jean Todt has urged Bernie Ecclestone to stop criticising Formula 1.

F1 supremo Ecclestone has rung in another new season with a familiar round of criticism, after last year describing the sport he runs as "crap".

Todt, the FIA president, told Auto Bild Motorsport: "Can you imagine someone going to see a new movie if the director said 'My film is shit'?

"If you want to sell a product, criticism must be internal, not external. We have to represent a positive image of Formula 1 again," said the Frenchman.

Unlike Ecclestone, Todt hailed F1's controversial yet cutting-edge 'power units'.

"We have to get them cheaper and louder," he admitted. "And it cannot be that a team has difficulty getting one. Apart from that, the hybrid engine is one of the best things Formula 1 has done."

Ecclestone, meanwhile, has also been critical of Todt himself, accusing him of focusing too much on the 'mobility' side of the FIA and neglecting F1.

"The FIA has two pillars," Todt insisted, "motor sport and mobility.

"One of my priorities is of course traffic safety: each year 1.3 million people die on the road - 500 children every day. Formula 1 is a luxury problem.

"It would be entirely out of place if the president of the FIA is concerned about the details of F1. But I do have good support people."

The new season gets underway on March 20.