Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone attempted to qualify for a single World Championship event. He was in a Connaught-Alta, one of a fleet of three entered by himself. He finished qualifying 265.2 seconds off the pace, and his two team-mates failed to qualify as well.

He is, however, the most important single person in Grand Prix history. He took charge of Motor Racing Developments in 1972, from Ron Tauranac. He was the team principal for Nelson Piquet's two drivers' titles, but he'd lost interest by the time Brabham missed the deadline to enter the 1988 World Championship.

Into the governance of the sport he went, and he modernised it, and quickly controlled Formula One. He is now the leader of a billion-dollar industry. He is a divisive figure, but he's not done badly for someone who was four minutes off the pace on a Saturday in Monaco.

 

[Incubus]

There was no Alonso either in 1991 when the spanish GP moved to Barcelona but attendances multiplied five-fold. Maybe the locals there had a few more quid to spare on F1 tickets than they did in Andalucia...

 

[Kewee]

Incubus ...... I don't know what affected attendances in 1991 but it was widely accepted that Alonso had a massive impact on F1's popularity especially after winning his first title. I do know Jerez and its surrounds are motorcycling crazy, maybe the populations interests do change a little near Barcelona.

 

[FB]

I'm sorry but if it weren't for the wall to wall TV coverage Mercedes wouldn't be in F1, Renault wouldn't be in F1, Honda wouldn't be coming back as an engine supplier, BMW wouldn't have made a foray in to the sport, and many of the teams we all know and love would long since have ceased to exist.

I agree that the pot needs to be divvied up more equally but to suggest Bernie Ecclestone has killed F1 is just madness. It's the work of FOM that has kept F1 in the public eye. Now, if you were to start critcising the rules makers at the FIA and the self indulgent team bosses who only work to their own ends for trying to kill F1 I'll agree with you wholeheartedly.

Bernie keeps the likes of Ron Dennis, Vijay Mallay, Frank Williams and who ever is the Ferrari boss this week, in check by controlling the purse strings and not letting the madness these guys would inflict on the sport from getting through. Just look at the recent incident with FI and Manor. I bet Force India had the long term continuation of the sport right at the heart of their decision to stop Manor from running last years car. Or was it smply that they didn't want another team to take some of the entry money? I'm guessing the latter.

Also, do you really think that F1 would be any more competitive if FOM gave all the money they make from the TV rights to the teams? No. The vanity projects would get bigger, Vijay Mallay would have something akin to the MTC built over the industrial estate where FI are based or would syphon off the cash to keep his other businesses afloat. Ron would be planning to build an extension of the MTC so that it was bigger than Basingstoke. Just look at the Red Bull "Energy Centre", it takes 14, FOURTEEN!, truck to move it from race to race. McLaren spent millions on a motor home, to what end? Did it make the cars go any faster? No, they are still shit and have been for quite some time now.

Please don't tell me there is anyone who could run F1 better as all the ego maniacs in the teams need someone with an even bigger ego to control them.

Oh, and Spain had no real interest in F1 until Fernando Alonso came along. Spanish GP's were always dreadfully attended prior to his arrival.

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/15500.html

 

[Jen]

Please don't tell me there is anyone who could run F1 better as all the ego maniacs in the teams need someone with an even bigger ego to control them.

Egomaniacs, one word, please.

Other than that spot on - there doesn't seem to be an inappropriate smiley to hand so will make do with

 

[Mephistopheles]

No sorry I ain't buyin' it there are far more competent and less egotistical people in the world than Bernie Ecclestone and like someone else said it ain't what he did that counts it;s what he is doing now that matters, for one thing the bloke is a bloody crook or have you forgotten how he sold all his shares to his wife just so that he could buy up the rest of them and take complete control or his bribing people and then buying his way out of going to jail, whilst the man he bribed is still banged up and that's just the tip of the iceberg where he is concerned.

 

[siffert_fan]

FB

Your dissertation overlooks a basic "chicken or the egg" question. Was it the public exposure that brought on the influx of egomaniacs? I also would not lump Frank Williams in with RD and VM; Williams entered the sport in the 60s, way before Bernie was anything other than a mechanic, so I would think his interest in the long-term health of the sport would be greater than BE's.

Honda has been in and out of F1 for over a half-century, also pre-dating Bernie, so I am not sure that that is a completely valid statement.

It is also possible that, if the costs hadn't spiralled so completely out of control, we might still have teams such as Jordan and Minardi on the grid. And wasn't it Bernie that mandated the change of power units to the current system, thereby massively increasing costs yet again?

 

[Slyboogy]

He's been killing it for nearly a decade now.

 

[FB]

I'd lump Frank Williams well and truly in with all the other team owners. He has completely forgotten where he came from with his diatribe against customer cars. Honda are in F1 for the publicity it brings for their car sales and without TV exposure they woudln't bother.

Cost have spiraled mainly due to the huge restrictions put on the designers who gain a tenth here and a tenth there when a bit more freedom could allow them to gain seconds with clever design. On the power units, the FIA make the rules not Bernie. He is influential but ultimately any rules changes are the responsibility of the FIA and they were pushing for a "greener" formula. Nevre forget that the teams also have in input in the reg changes as well.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Oh look, isn't he cute? But be careful he bites...

 

[cider_and_toast]

In my view, costs have spiralled because more teams have more money. The more they have the more they spend. Of course you are totally correct FB that using 14 trucks to deliver a paddock peace and happy zone is sodding ridiculous but it still happens. Why? Because they've got the money to do it.

Praising Ecclestone for being able to manage ego's is like praising the Captain of the Titanic for managing to complete 3/4 of an Atlantic crossing without hitting an iceberg. He has to do all that he does to ensure that 40 percent of income F1 generates is fed back to CVC for zero return to the sport. That's not good business for anyone. It's not as if CVC reinvest that money back into the game. That capital just falls out of the system.

It's interesting to note that Honda and BMW were more successful in the 80's when there was less money in the sport than in the 00's when there was tons of the stuff.

The current structure of F1 with the fact that only 6 teams have a say is designed not to control egos but to keep Ecclestone in the box seat. You rightly point out that Force India based their decision on their own needs, luckily for Force India they are on the council as the "next best team". I wonder how there attitude will change next season when they fall off the council and someone like TR or Renault get on there. TR would be a nightmare as that would be two votes for Red Bull right there. For years he has operated on a divide and conquer policy.

You are right in another respect in that it's far to easy to level all of the blame on Ecclestone, I'm guilty as charged on that one at times. The FIA need to step up to the plate and take more responsibilty. Jean Todt's policy of not seemingly doing anything doesn't seem to be paying off. Oh dear I shudder to say this but at least Max tried to do something. The worst thing Max ever did was give Ecclestone the rights for a 100 years. The FIA lost all control over the sport in doing that and gave Ecclestone a free hand.

 

[siffert_fan]

Mosley and Todt make the bygones days of Balestre look like heaven on earth.

 

[siffert_fan]

Meph,

He needs to be carrying a bigger keg!

 

[siffert_fan]

http://www.pitpass.com/53541/Ecclestone-signals-demise-of-F1-in-Europe

This should surprise no-one

 

[KekeTheKing]

What? That Bernie said something that may or may not have any basis in reality?

Let me know when the teams start packing up and relocating to the Middle East

 

[siffert_fan]

http://www.pitpass.com/53543/Bernie-has-some-cunning-plans

More Bernie foolishness

 

[cider_and_toast]

Speaking to reporters in Sepang

Ecclestone asked if those present had any suggestions as to how to improve the sport. When none were forthcoming

And there's another problem identified. In leaders up and down the motorsport journalism world this weekend there will be dozens of lines written about how things suck in F1 and all is not well in the world, how the fans are turning off in droves etc etc.

And yet when the great white chief asks, ok guys, what would you do? There was no responses forthcoming. I guess when you look down at your FIA credentials opening your mouth seems like the wrong idea.

 

[Mephistopheles]

And some reckon that F1 isn't in trouble.

Why has Germany dropped off of the calendar, because they cannot either afford or justify the fees Bernie is demanding.

So I got a suggestion for Bernie.

Stop being so fucking greedy you arrogant twat and give more of the TV revenue to the teams so that they can afford to go racing..

 

[siffert_fan]

How about doing away with hybrid power units? F1 is not supposed to be about being "green", it is supposed to be about clever engineering, great drivers, and great head-to-head racing.

Today's F1 only has the former. Pay drivers have diluted the talent pool to the point of absurdity, and real duels for wins have become an increasing rarity for the last decade. The super-long season precludes drivers participating in more than one series (as was the norm in the 60s and 70s), so drivers choose a career path early on and stick to it. That is why the likes of folks like Tom Kristensen and Sebastian Loeb were never seen in F1 cars.

 

[KekeTheKing]

If I were to pinpoint one reason why Germany won't be hosting a GP this year it is because their legal system had the temerity (read: stupidity) to put a man behind bars while putting an obviously guilty man on trial for the sole reason of receiving an enormous payout. Bernie Ecclestone is probably one of the most petty men in history. They were going to pay at some point, little did they know it would be so soon.

 

[gethinceri]

The two are not related.