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.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Hmm the thread title Bill Boddy

Yes, but who is this Mr Eccles, was he the goon man?

Sic transit gloria mundi.

 

[FB]

I was sick in a transit once. It was a less than glorious Monday for those in the van with me.

 

[vintly]

Move over, Bernie Ecclestone. Scientists unearth Earth's oldest fossil yet: 4bn years old

This has nothing to do with F1, or Bernie, but the title made me chuckle

 

[F1Brits_90]

This is a great April fool

Bernie Ecclestone suggests fake 'rain' could liven up Formula One | Daily Mail Online

 

[Bill Boddy]

A bit late now.

Bernie Ecclestone: I overcharged new grand prix venues for F1

 

[teabagyokel]

No shit.

 

[Greenlantern101]

OMG what next, realisation that going to countries with dictators and horrendous human rights records is bad?

 

[Andyoak]

C'mon... That ain't never gonna happen

 

[The Artist.....]

A bit late now.

Bernie Ecclestone: I overcharged new grand prix venues for F1

Everyone outside of the sport said this for years. Unfortunately Bernie has destroyed the sport by chasing the money!

 

[Rutherford]

Everyone outside of the sport said this for years. Unfortunately Bernie has destroyed the sport by chasing the money!

What has he destroyed, nothing, the sport series has not folded and some places are prepared to pay the price. It was his job to generate income for the private equity firm and for the teams, especially the latter as they weren't going to make a compromise concerning the budget.
Nothing is going to change with Carey, he's already in talks with Turkey.

 

[F1Brits_90]

watching the already brilliant f1 live in london. Liberty media last 6/9mths are making good case of how much bernie ecclestone might have been under selling F1 in last decade

 

[Rutherford]

watching the already brilliant f1 live in london. Liberty media last 6/9mths are making good case of how much bernie ecclestone might have been under selling F1 in last decade

I also believe that they are looking at means to increase revenue, because they know that it is no longer sustainable to make the hosts pay fees in the range of $ 20- 30+ Million per GP event. Furthermore, the sport is simply being americanized which I'm not too big a supporter of. I don't want to hear commentators say a teams name beginning with a their sponsors, e.g. Shell Singha Ray Ban UPS Ferrari. Hearing the commentators in the US do that always makes me cringe.

 

[teabagyokel]

JPS Lotus? Vodafone McLaren Mercedes?

Not an Americanisation, I'm afraid.

 

[RasputinLives]

Benetton and Red Bull aren't really team names either.

 

[F1Brits_90]

red bull tag heuar too, didn't we have Vodafone Ferrari as well.

i dont mind it being americanised to a point because we want f1 to be a show & just look at the superbowl it is the biggest annual sporting show like a olympic opening ceremony & fa cup final. but i think . Ross Brawn will stop anything too drastic

 

[Rutherford]

JPS Lotus? Vodafone McLaren Mercedes?

Not an Americanisation, I'm afraid.

What I am referring to are the commentators saying at least three sponsor names when mentioning a team that is not usual in Europe; I can't recall any commentator saying Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. I'm not referring to the names themselves.

 

[Rutherford]

red bull tag heuar too, didn't we have Vodafone Ferrari as well.

i dont mind it being americanised to a point because we want f1 to be a show & just look at the superbowl it is the biggest annual sporting show like a olympic opening ceremony & fa cup final. but i think . Ross Brawn will stop anything too drastic

I don't watch the super bowl, because it's a load of c**p. It's a 4 hour long ad.

 

[F1Brits_90]

I don't watch the super bowl, because it's a load of c**p. It's a 4 hour long ad.

its not so bad as I watch it on bbc. so no ads

 

[Titch]

Except on the pitch of course.

 

[Bushi]

I don't watch the super bowl, because it's a load of c**p. It's a 4 hour long ad.

Yep, although i watched it on the beeb aswell. I get your point, since i watched the Indy 500 this year, or i watched a commercial which had Indy 500 as ad in it.