July 4, 2014

Ding Dong: the time has come for Bernie.



A day after our rant about Mr.E and The Guardian publishes a report that, if confirmed, spells the end of Ecclestone's incredible 40 year reign over Formula One.

CVC Capital Partners , according to an insider who spoke with the paper,  will sell off  much of its 35.5% controlling interest in the sport.

Decision makers at the City-based private equity firm have decided that Ecclestone, the sport’s chief executive and commercial rights holder, must go even if he wins his court case in Munich, where he is fighting bribery charges. 
They are convinced that Ecclestone, who will be 84 in October, will continue to be an embarrassment, with HM Revenue and Customs likely to ask further questions about his complex tax affairs, which formed the basis of a Panorama investigation.*

In the last weeks Ecclestone has declared social media irrelevant, wished upon the demise of smaller teams and said "bye-bye" to the Italian GP after 2015.

Of course, having followed F1 long enough, I will hedge on Bernie's vampiristic ability to transcend time and hire the very cream of the lawyer crop and make a deal.  Certainly he's made many people very much money along the way and that buys a lot of looks the other way.

You can read the complete article on the Guardian HERE

*the Panorama show is a must see,  yo might want fuse Chrome with the Hola plug in

7 comments:

  1. Ecclestone has been very good for the sport of F1 but, and it is a huge 'but', he is way out of touch with modern social media and the importance of some of the 'old' circuits to both real fans and drivers. F1 has an incredible history and Ecclestone is in danger of removing that history by picking races in countries that have no F1 fan base only money. For me F1 has become too expensive to see live, despite being a huge live motor racing fan and attendee of most circuits on a regular basis.
    It's time for a change of leadership before the great world motor sport of F1 becomes damaged in the pursuit of purely financial gain for a few people.

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  2. Totally agree on the circuit ticket prices, there has to be a way to alls fans to go see races live without having to sell their first born. Monaco this year was 495 Euro for Sunday only!

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  3. True he is out of touch but as much as I like the history, the races have to support themselves on a world market. More races, competitive bidding or fan based choice - someone has to decide where the circus plays.

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  4. Silverstone, this Sunday, for someone 16+ years old is £172.91 + £5.77 park and ride for a general entry ticket, no grandstand. For a child, up to the age of 15yrs it is £86.46. That is £524.51 for a family of 4. There have been small discounts for early booking.
    In the UK the average disposable income is £170/week (BBC). So, one day at the F1 costs slightly more than three weeks of disposable income for the average UK family.
    To watch the BTCC race day, Sunday, at Silverstone it costs £29/adult, children are free as is circuit parking. On the day there are 13 races and the pit lane walk is free.
    I know which gives better value for money.

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  5. Why run on circuits that have no fan base, no character, you may as well buy yourself a scalextric set. It becomes sterile, the circuits all look the same, designed rather than evolved, void of quirks and character.
    I agree, the sport has to pay its way but sometimes that is at the cost of what makes F1 unique and the best racing in the world of motor sport.

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  6. He is invincible.

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  7. Exactly. Look at how exciting Austria was this year.

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