I kinda did..... He's been on very sketchy ground for a while now. As Joe notes, his partner's already in the big house & seems he's up to his eyeballs in debt, maybe heading the same way. Be interesting to see what the new guys do. Cheers, Ian
Maybe why Force India hopes to revive Aston Martin's interest by saying that the door is open for more negotiations for the 2017 season?
I hope this team ends up in good hands. They have consistently overperformed considering the budget. Best thing Mallya ever did was hiring Bob Fernley. Remember where they used to be as Spyker?!
As long as the team is progressing, i'm happy. When VJ took over, they were a joke. Thankfully, they made some massive gains, and now are a solid midfield team. I certainly hope they will be challenging for the podium on a regular basis soon.
Joe Saward does not see Vijay staying in control - https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/mallya-is-still-in-charge/
VJ has had big problems with Kingfisher airlines, and now with Diageo.... as well as a bit of a poor reputation living up and paying off loans. he's always had a film of slime on him. that being said, it is now troubling that the team may have some Cash issues as Ray Sahara is also under indictment in India and in the UK for fraud etc... its always interesting.
+1 F1 has always at least tolerated what most of us would call 'the seedy underbelly'. Nature of the beast. And Not just F1, but most Motorsport I think. It's always been expensive, so will always attract some 'sketchy' players. Cheers, Ian
Also just kinda noticed '$75MM in restitution.' I don't care who you are, that's gotta hurt! Makes for another *perfect* F1 team owner! Cheers, Ian
Nope. Sorry! Not since I worked for him in the early '80's. Actually lived in his house in Silverstone for a while back then. He went on to build a pretty good F1 team and then sold it for many $. Good luck to the guy. What am I missing? Cheers, Ian
Got a story from a former pilot of Eddie Jordan. Jordan had a Hawker. One day he is giving a ride to Bernie on the Hawker and Bernie is already on the aircraft waiting for Eddie to arrive. Eddie was not on time and Bernie was getting agitated. Bernie demanded that the door be closed and to leave Eddie behind. As I remember the telling, the door was closed and Eddie was then begging for the door to be opened to let him into his own jet.
Myriad tales over the years. Most embellished of course.... What pilot is really going to shut their employer out? I don't much care if it's Bernie or the Lord Almighty doing the whining - not gonna happen. Would definitely like to hear Williams tale though..... Cheers, Ian
Knew the pilot well enough that I believe what happened. He didn't take off but Bernie wanted to make a real point on Eddie about who had the real clout. The pilot was not happy at all about being put in the situation.
Joe Saward is saying there is an arrest warrant out for Mallya... apparently he forgot to repay $1Billion US. ... should be interesting: "The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has approached the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) seeking the arrest of Vijay Mallya in a bid to recover loans to Kingfisher Airlines, which was promoted by the liquor baron. SBI also wants his passport impounded and a complete disclosure of his personal assets. The move comes after Mallya struck a $75-million deal with Diageo to exit United Spirits. He had also indicated that he was likely to relocate to the UK. SBI leads a consortium of 17 lenders to the grounded Kingfisher Airlines, which has defaulted on loans worth Rs 7,000 crore. According to sources, SBI has sought to secure the lenders' first right on Diageo's payout to Mallya. For those who are not familiar with the word crore, it is an Indian measure not used in the West. The sum of 7,000 crore rupees, is equivalent of something in the region of $1 billion."
