The Bernie Ecclestone Story

Several years ago I asked Forrest Bond, publisher of Racefax, and a noted journalist-photographer of the auto racing community for a few decades (sorry Forrest) this question:

Where did Bernie Ecclestone come from? With his permission, I have posted his recently updated response here. For further information I recommend a trial subscription to the RaceFax.com site. The first month is free and provides access to the archives dating back to the beginning of 1997. Racefax is a newsletter offering complete coverage of Formula racing worldwide including F1, Champ Car, and IRL.

Bob


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Forrest-


How and when did Bernie Ecclestone get to own F1?
What did he buy? or start? or whatever?
How does FIA relate to F1?
Sounds like a good history lesson.……


Bob,

I'm pleased you want to help the forum participant who wants
information about how Bernie Ecclestone came to power, and what that
power is, precisely, and particularly his relationship to the FIA.
That said, here's why I know:

--Bernard Charles--

In the early '60s, Formula 1 was in what might be called the
pre-commercial era, and about to transition into rampant
commercialism. Necessarily, I think, that created a lot of friction
between the governing body and the team owners.

Since the beginning of what is called the 'modern era,' Formula 1 has
been owned by the FIA, then headquartered in Paris. The actual
running of the series was, in the '60s, delegated to FIA's Commission
Sportive International (the CSI), which was then run by Prince
Meternich.

Meternich had an old world view of the sport, and resisted any
attempts at professionalism. Schedules were changed on a whim, races
being added or dropped after the season had begun, and with costs
spiraling even then, and the beginnings of sponsorship (mostly from
automotive suppliers, i.e., spark plugs, oils, tires, etc.), budgets
kept getting turned upside down.

In the '70s, the CSI was renamed (FISA) and run by Jean-Marie
Balestre, later head of the FIA as well. The team owners had by then
begun increasingly to be the ones running F1, under a weak CSI. When
Balestre took control, he really took control, and this was resisted
by the team owners, primarily because Balestre refused to take into
consideration the commercial responsibilities increasingly incumbent
on the teams.

Ultimately, the two sides could not reach agreement on much of
anything. The teams banded together under the Formula One
Constructors Assn. banner, with Ecclestone (then the owner of the
Brabham team) at its head.

The result, as the '70s ended, was the FISA-FOCA War, with Balestre
opposed by Bernie and Max Mosley, Ecclestone's racing lawyer and
right-hand man. The war was bitter, but was ultimately resolved in
the early '80s, leaving Balestre (and the FIA) with control of
sporting aspects (rules, etc.), and Bernie, as the operating head of
FOCA, wound up with commercial control (selecting race venues,
negotiating promoter and TV broadcaster contracts, and distributing
the wealth, as outlined in. the Concorde Agreement, which was the
war's peace treaty. Much modified over the years, the Concorde
prevails today, defining how Formula 1 is run, and will until the end
of the 2007 season.

The residue of the war was a lot of animosity between the FIA, which
Balestre was elected to head in addition to the FISA, and the teams,
but it also created a division within the body of team owners.
Ferrari and others, now long gone, had sided with the FIA during the
war, while the (mostly) British teams had banded together to fight
the war, often being opposed by Ferrari, et al, as well as the FIA.

As a result, the Concorde really had three parties: the FIA, the
'manufacturer' teams (Ferrari, etc.), which were then not formally
members of FOCA, and the FOCA teams (Williams, McLaren and others).
The distinction is largely moot, now, as Ferrari and the rest
eventually became part of FOCA, but voting rights on some committees
favor Ferrari because of the distinction, which remains in the
Concorde, if nowhere else.

During the '90s, Mosley succeeded in defeating Balestre in an
election for the FIA presidency, and with that, the palace coup --
which is essentially what the FISA-FOCA War was -- was complete.

Having been the first to recognize the future economic potential of
television coverage of sports, Ecclestone shrewdly negotiated the
broadcast right for F1 away from the individual race promoters, and
the proceeds eventually made multi-millionaires of the long-term team
owners.

No one made as much as Ecclestone, however, as the teams received
only a portion of the broadcast revenues, while Ecclestone's
companies and partners received all the revenue from paddock club
suites, catering, track signage, race programs and everything else
that takes place inside the race track proper. Ecclestone also
became the promoter of an increasing number of Grands Prix, which
mean he was negotiating contracts with himself. Nice work, if you
can get it, and the team owners -- largely a collection of racers and
former mechanics -- allowed him to get it, not least because they
were, under Ecclestone's management, making more money than they'd
ever dreamed possible.

Ultimately, Mosley and Ecclestone agreed that the commercial rights
should be passed from FOCA to Ecclestone's labyrinth of companies, in
exchange for a cash payment to the FIA. The teams were ultimately
informed of this only after the fact, but did not formally object.
Eventually, Ecclestone acquired the rights for 100 years, in
exchange, as I remember, for $350 million, then leveraged the
contract through a bond issue, which made him a billionaire, and one
of the richest men in England.

The dispute now raging, largely under F1's surface, is over the
distribution of F1's revenue after the Concorde expires, the general
view now being that Ecclestone is getting far more than he's worth
these days. This is what has given rise to the GPWC, the
manufacturer group which continues to threaten to create a rival
series in 2008, unless Bernie gives up the gold, or at least a much
larger portion thereof.

For a more detailed understanding of Bernie Ecclestone, I highly
recommend "Bernie's Game," by Terry Lovell. Lovell is not a racing
journalist, and thus was more objective than such as I, but he
suffered a bit from not having had access to the sacrosanct Concorde.
That, however, resulted in only minor inaccuracies and
misunderstandings, and he had a lot of access to Bernie in doing his
research.

For a fuller understanding of the broad history of Formula 1, I
highly recommend Mike Lang's three-volume set, "Grand Prix!"
(followed in each case by the years covered). I believe they are out
of print, but e-Bay might turn them up, and there's also
www.motorsportcollector.com. The proprietor, Paul Zimmerman, is good
people, and he may be able to help with the Lang books and the Bernie
bio, which might also be out of print now. And there's always
amazon.com.

Hope this helps.

Forrest


Forrest K. Bond
Publisher
RaceFax DotCom
1107 Gardenia Drive
New Braunfels, TX 78130

830-625-0500

 

Wow!

There's New Bransfuls again!

Simpson Safety products and now this guy...Deep in the Heart of Texas!

 

JANUARY 4, 2018

Ecclestone no longer attending races


Bernie Ecclestone says he may no longer attend Grands Prix.

The former F1 supremo began his first year as nominal 'chairman emeritus' in 2017 whilst still attending some races.

But towards the end of the year, Ecclestone was conspicuously absent, and he now tells Auto Motor und Sport: "I have the feeling that my successors do not want to see me at the track anymore."

In his annual Christmas card, the 87-year-old poked fun at his successor Chase Carey, but he denies he is "bitter" about the new Liberty Media era.

"On the contrary. I'm proud of formula one and I want it to be good," he said.

He applauded the fact that newly-released figures show that TV and spectator figures rose in 2017.

"The Ferrari against Mercedes duel mobilised the fans," Ecclestone said.

"I actually apologised to the promoters, because they paid for the old formula one and all they got was Mercedes winning. Now, they're getting value for money again."

Asked why he thinks Ferrari is suddenly more competitive, the Briton answered: "They were smart enough to look at the other teams and bring on board good people.

"Mercedes supplies three teams. Whoever does what Mercedes is doing is successful," Ecclestone added.

As for Liberty Media, he admits he doesn't like that the American company is heavily investing in F1 marketing.

"It is important that the teams market themselves, and that the promoters promote their event," he said. "If FOM competes as a third party, that's only confusing."

Ecclestone also sided with F1 manufacturers who are railing against Liberty Media's proposed engine changes for 2021.

"I would have scrapped this (current) engine. It was a disaster from the date on which it was introduced.

"But two years ago I told the teams they could keep the damn engine if they increase the fuel flow and the fuel load," he said.

Finally, Ecclestone warned Liberty to take Ferrari's threat to quit F1 after 2020 seriously.

"You didn't have to take Luca di Montezemolo seriously, because motor sport was his life," he said.

"But Sergio (Marchionne) can live without F1. He is only interested in the business. If Marchionne doesn't like what he sees, he will stop.

"I'm afraid that Ferrari can live without formula one, but not vice versa," Ecclestone concluded.

 

"I'm afraid that Ferrari can live without formula one, but not vice versa," Ecclestone concluded.

I wonder how many people who bought a new Ferrari in the last 5 years know who Sebastian Vettel is?

 

Bernie Ecclestone says he may no longer attend Grands Prix. Horay!

But towards the end of the year, Ecclestone was conspicuously absent, and he now tells Auto Motor und Sport: "I have the feeling that my successors do not want to see me at the track anymore." Maybe he finally got a clue!

As for Liberty Media, he admits he doesn't like that the American company is heavily investing in F1 marketing. Why does he think they BOUGHT F1 ? Maybe he still doesn't have a clue !?!

Finally, Ecclestone warned Liberty to take Ferrari's threat to quit F1 after 2020 seriously. Yep--no clue.........

 

I certainly do, and I bought mine last month.
If you're correct, I didn't realize there was such a disconnect.
I thought many/most Ferrari owners and fans were appreciative of the F1 connection.

Kevin

 

Hysterical duo: Max Mosley, the son of a Nazi, and Bernie Ecklestein, the Hebrew.

 

I don't have any factual statistics to back it up, but all the Ferrari enthusiasts I talk to (both owners and tifosi), know a lot about Ferrari in F1. Not only do the know who Vettel is, they know Kimi as well and many prefer the Finn.

 

The majority of the owners of the newest Ferrari that I have met recently, pronounce Modena as Modeena, have never been on a track in their life, drive their cars 300 miles a year, and don’t know Montezemolo from Montezuma.

 

That might be because of the F1 trans. You don't need to know how to drive a manual any more! So people buy them for status instead of love of driving and performance.

 

LOL . . . I know you said "The majority" but I think it's still a gross generalization based on people I've talked to. It may be an older crowd that I'm involved with.

 

Singapore 2017 certainly resembled Montezuma's Revenge.

 

Bottom line... "I'm afraid that Ferrari can live without formula one, but not vice versa"

 

Good point. I would guess only very few.

 

JANUARY 29, 2018

F1 at risk of political turmoil


Toto Wolff says he misses F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone's ability to get things done.

The Mercedes boss says Liberty Media has been in a "honeymoon period" since succeeding the Ecclestone era, but many are now predicting a fiery showdown with top teams including Ferrari.

One criticism from Wolff is that while the Ecclestone era was contentious, he would regularly pull off lucrative deals.

"Bernie invented this sport so to speak, and he had strong qualities to increase sales," he told DPA news agency.

"If I picked one point, it would be the ability to complete deals that he had."

On the other hand, Wolff pointed out that Liberty has made many plans and ideas public, but the real test will be putting them into action.

"We've heard many interesting things," he said. "But the difficulty is not having good ideas, but actually implementing them."

For instance, Liberty has unveiled plans for new engine rules and a budget cap, but Ferrari is already threatening to quit.

"Right now, many in formula one are moving in different directions," former F1 driver Gerhard Berger told Auto Motor und Sport.

"You have Mercedes and Ferrari on one side, Ross Brawn and the Americans on the other, and the FIA in the middle," he explained.

"In the good old days there was unity between Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, so it was hard for the teams to have an influence. So at the moment there is the danger of great political disruptions," said Wolff.

 

Doesen't sound to promising! F1 is heading downward.

 

I have never met Bernie. But there are plenty of stories about him, some shady!

 

I was never a big fan of Bernie. However, what fair is fair. He put Formula1 on the map. He made it the way it is . ok... or at least the way it was. Did he benefit from it? Absolutely, but without him I doubt Formula 1 would gain a worldwide recognition.

 

I met with Bernie once in 1991 for a meeting with him and Paddy Mcnalley and Ann Richards from Allsport . He was very nice direct and fair. We got a deal right away predicated on them having the Usgp .... sadly they did not.


Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat

 

So sad but frankly pretty true. owning a Ferrari is more status symbol period vs. a high performance precision machine.

 

Modern F-1 owes more to Bernie than almost anyone else. I would say the 3 top names in F-1 ever : 1. Enzo Ferrari 2. Bernie Ecclestone. 3. Colin Champman. each of them contributed to how F-1 is the way it is today.

 

I have a feeling we have not heard the last of Bernie..

 

I doubt it. Don't forget he is 87 years old.

 

MARCH 27, 2018

Ecclestone to be back in court in 2019


Bernie Ecclestone will be back in court next year as the bribery scandal returns.

In 2014, the now former F1 supremo escaped jail over corruption charges after paying $100 million to the Munich court.

Ecclestone, now 87, had been accused of paying $44 million to a German banker to ensure formula one was sold to his preferred buyer, CVC.

But the matter is now returning to court, with London's High Court confirming reports that a trial date has been set for 1 October 2019.

In 2014, a company called Bluewaters claimed it was the high bidder to buy F1 in 2005. But it said CVC secured the deal because of Ecclestone's alleged bribes to Gerhard Gribkowsky, who served jail time after receiving the $44m.

In 2014, Bluewaters' case was dismissed by a New York judge, but now the case will be heard in London.

"Our client is pleased that the judge has now set a date for the trial in London," said Bluewaters' lawyer Simon Bushell.