Bernie Ecclestone - the last great dictatorship in Formula 1 comes to an end
The big zampano, the little villain, the mastermind or the great dictator, whatever Bernie is called, he is and always will be "Mr Formula One"!
What he has done for the sport over the last 50 years will not be emulated in a hurry.
If we review his motorsport life, it went as follows:
It began with a few starts in motorcycle races, then the switch to four wheels in a Cooper Formula Junior. In 1958, he tried to qualify for the two F1 races in Monaco and Silverstone in a Connaught.
However, his talent as a driver was not enough, so in 1958/59 he took over the management of his much more talented friend Stuart Lewis-Evans in the premier class. However, Lewis-Evans had a serious accident with the Vanwall during a race in Morocco and died just six days later in a London hospital.
From 1966 to 1970, Bernie was responsible for the management of Austrian Jochen Rindt, who in turn was killed in an accident during practice for the 1970 Italian GP in Monza.
From 1971 to 1987, he was team principal of the Brabham F1 team and won the 1983 World Championship title with Nelson Piquet and the BMW turbo engine.
He founded the Formula One Constructors Association in 1971, uniting all the teams into one package.
In 1977 he acquired the advertising rights for Formula 1 and in 1978 the TV rights were added.
In 2000, he sold three quarters of his company SLEC to various companies, but later bought them back. In 2005/6, he sold F1 to CVC Kapitals in Luxembourg. From 2006, he was Managing Director of rights owner CVC.
On January 23, 2017, he was removed as Managing Director by the new owner of Liberty Media just six days after the takeover. The new management team was confirmed just a few hours later: 62-year-old Chase Carey will take on a dual role as president and managing director of the new F1 company. Ross Brawn, the former Ferrari team boss, will take care of sporting and technical matters in future, while Sean Bratches, the former manager of the sports channel ESPN, will take care of the commercial side of F1.
However, Bernie himself would like to stay on board and has therefore been offered the position of "Chairman-Emeritus". Bernie comments: "My new position is now an American expression. A kind of honorary president. I hold this title without knowing what it means."
Bernie is and remains a very bizarre figure and there are only two possibilities: Either you love him or you hate him. There is no in-between. But one thing you certainly can't accuse him of is a lack of enthusiasm. His heart has always burned for F1 and only F1, because he only loves the monopostos with their free-standing wheels. He doesn't like sports cars. He showed this clearly after taking over Albert Obrist's gigantic Ferrari collection, when he immediately sold all the sports cars on. However, Bernie's private collection of monoposti is gigantic and absolutely unique worldwide.
His sayings and black humor are just as legendary.
"If I were to die in the middle of a Grand Prix - no problem! But I'd rather it happened after the finish line."
"I would also try to make as much money as possible as a florist. But my heart is in motorsport."
When asked when his autobiography will be published: "The morning after my death - and the first twelve copies will go to the tax office."
When asked what he would do if he was 22 years old again: ""I would try to find an 18-year-old girlfriend."
"Why would I use bodyguards? I'm now divorced from the only person who puts pressure on me." (Ecclestone alluding to the separation from his wife Slavica)
"I love flying to Japan! Everyone there is as big as me."
"The only good thing about the Olympics are the opening and closing ceremonies. That's a great show. Otherwise it's complete nonsense." (Ecclestone on the 2012 Olympic Games in his home city of London) (dpa).
"Many cooks spoil the broth" is a well-known saying. Whether this will also prove true in the future of Formula 1 will soon become clear. What Bernie set up as a lone fighter will now be continued by three to five people, in harmony with the teams. Not everything Bernie decided was always really good, but he decided.
