We've touched on this subject a couple of times but something dawned on me the other day when I was reading an interview with Martin Brundle on his reasons for moving to Sky. One of the things he said as he wrestled (yeah right !!) with the thought of leaving dear Auntie and taking King Ruperts Shilling, was that he went and spoke to Bernie to seek his advice. (Get thee to Sky said Bernie!!).
Now what occured to me is that in this world there are any number of buisness types more than capable of running a sporting franchise who have all the skills to thrash out deals for hard dollers on board room tables the world over. The problem that F1 faces when Bernie goes is that none of these people will have as much control on the day to day running of the sport as Bernie has. It's the loss of this that could be one of the most devistating factors in an F1 world post Bernie.
Since Max moved on, there are new guys at the helm of the sport, the teams are together, then apart, then together again, with CVC still looking to recover their billions and with track owners growing ever louder at the costs of hosting events, in any post Bernie F1 is it possible for a single person to hold all of these factors together?
It's clear in recent years that while it's still Bernie's game, the teams themselves have been getting braver in their attitude towards their dealings with BE, it's only the fact that he excels at the divide and rule style of managment that so often these attempts to beat Bernie at his own game fail. You only have to look at how in the latest version of the concorde agreement the deal has moved away from one that singles out Ferrari's historical importance and towards rewarding Mclaren and Red Bull as well. This seems to have marginalised Mercedes who have so far refused to sign.
So, how will F1 shape up and cope in a world without Bernie? I can see a time of in-fighting and threats from all remaining parties that could see a split in the sport for real this time as opposed to one that's constantly been threatend. Over 30 years is one hell of a long time to be at the top of the heap and the black hole in Bernie's wake is huge and could consume the sport.
Now what occured to me is that in this world there are any number of buisness types more than capable of running a sporting franchise who have all the skills to thrash out deals for hard dollers on board room tables the world over. The problem that F1 faces when Bernie goes is that none of these people will have as much control on the day to day running of the sport as Bernie has. It's the loss of this that could be one of the most devistating factors in an F1 world post Bernie.
Since Max moved on, there are new guys at the helm of the sport, the teams are together, then apart, then together again, with CVC still looking to recover their billions and with track owners growing ever louder at the costs of hosting events, in any post Bernie F1 is it possible for a single person to hold all of these factors together?
It's clear in recent years that while it's still Bernie's game, the teams themselves have been getting braver in their attitude towards their dealings with BE, it's only the fact that he excels at the divide and rule style of managment that so often these attempts to beat Bernie at his own game fail. You only have to look at how in the latest version of the concorde agreement the deal has moved away from one that singles out Ferrari's historical importance and towards rewarding Mclaren and Red Bull as well. This seems to have marginalised Mercedes who have so far refused to sign.
So, how will F1 shape up and cope in a world without Bernie? I can see a time of in-fighting and threats from all remaining parties that could see a split in the sport for real this time as opposed to one that's constantly been threatend. Over 30 years is one hell of a long time to be at the top of the heap and the black hole in Bernie's wake is huge and could consume the sport.
