I am very disappointed in Mr Bernard Ecclestone. This has very little to do with his latest silly statements and disappointment that Hamilton did not become champion, alhough these are symptomatic of how his only consideration these days seems to be the television ratings.
Bernie Ecclestone
There was a time when Bernie was the great... well, the little white hope of Formula One. He bought the Brabham team in the early seventies and, with the assistance of the gifted South African designer, Gordon Murray, he made it into one of the best small teams on the grid. Those Parmalat-sponsored cars were the prettiest of the lot and, when Bernie gave up on the hopelessly unreliable Alfa Romeo engine and returned to Cosworth power, they rewarded his efforts with two driver's championships.
By then, Bernie was becoming involved with FOCA, the Formula One Constructors Association, that was to take on the might of the FIA in the early eighties. They lost, but Bernie had already become the darling of the British F1 fans for his spirited defense of the little guys against the combined power of Ferrari, Renault and the FIA. When Bernie decided that he liked the rough and tumble of F1 politics and sold the team so that he and his sidekick, Max, could invade the FIA to change things from the inside, we all thought that F1 would be set upon the right path at last.
And so it proved, for a while. Max did a lot of good work in making the sport safer and Bernie taught it how to make money by selling the television rights to the right people. For a while, F1 prospered.
It couldn't last, unfortunately, and those two great corrupters of man, power and money, began to work their spell upon the brave twosome. Bernie became single-minded to the point of obsession over television ratings and, at Indy in 2005, Max broke away from his owner and set a course for ultimate power. It is clear from many of Bernie's statements that he knows Max is doing great damage to the sport now but he seems completely unable to curb his excesses, consoling himself by inventing ever more fantastic schemes for increasing the ratings.
In 2007 Max has revealed himself as the real "Mister Formula One" with an apparently unending series of high-handed decisions and dire punishments for any who cross him. His dismissal of the manufacturer teams' suggestions for a way forward on the engine formula for the sport are pure dictatorialism - we can discuss it, yes, but if you don't agree with me, I'll make it happen anyway. It is no wonder that people are beginning to remember Max's father.
How long can it continue before he sparks a revolt that ends his reign and changes the way F1 is governed? I cannot believe that the manufacturers, having apparently reached agreement with Max over the future of the sport, will sit back and let him run the show in complete disregard for their wishes. They must surely use their undoubted power to bring about change.
And Bernie is reduced to giving inane little interviews in which he talks about how Lewis Hamilton "should" have won the championship and how he hopes that Kimi Raikkonen will learn to talk (fat hope). These are the ramblings of a man who has fallen from grace and has nothing left but to play with his toys, while his former lapdog, transformed into a pitbull, ravages the sport he once knew and loved so well.
I am so disappointed in him. If any man were able to introduce some reason into Max's thinking, it is Bernie, but it seems that he has given up and prefers to turn a blind eye to what is happening around him. No doubt he will go too when Max is finally shown the door.
It is a shame though. To me, Bernie will always be the man who gave Nelson Piquet his shot at the world championship, the leader of a well-turned out team of excellent cars and the champion of the little teams. All the political stuff that followed is just fluff compared to that. I hope he enjoys his retirement.
Bernie Ecclestone
There was a time when Bernie was the great... well, the little white hope of Formula One. He bought the Brabham team in the early seventies and, with the assistance of the gifted South African designer, Gordon Murray, he made it into one of the best small teams on the grid. Those Parmalat-sponsored cars were the prettiest of the lot and, when Bernie gave up on the hopelessly unreliable Alfa Romeo engine and returned to Cosworth power, they rewarded his efforts with two driver's championships.
By then, Bernie was becoming involved with FOCA, the Formula One Constructors Association, that was to take on the might of the FIA in the early eighties. They lost, but Bernie had already become the darling of the British F1 fans for his spirited defense of the little guys against the combined power of Ferrari, Renault and the FIA. When Bernie decided that he liked the rough and tumble of F1 politics and sold the team so that he and his sidekick, Max, could invade the FIA to change things from the inside, we all thought that F1 would be set upon the right path at last.
And so it proved, for a while. Max did a lot of good work in making the sport safer and Bernie taught it how to make money by selling the television rights to the right people. For a while, F1 prospered.
It couldn't last, unfortunately, and those two great corrupters of man, power and money, began to work their spell upon the brave twosome. Bernie became single-minded to the point of obsession over television ratings and, at Indy in 2005, Max broke away from his owner and set a course for ultimate power. It is clear from many of Bernie's statements that he knows Max is doing great damage to the sport now but he seems completely unable to curb his excesses, consoling himself by inventing ever more fantastic schemes for increasing the ratings.
In 2007 Max has revealed himself as the real "Mister Formula One" with an apparently unending series of high-handed decisions and dire punishments for any who cross him. His dismissal of the manufacturer teams' suggestions for a way forward on the engine formula for the sport are pure dictatorialism - we can discuss it, yes, but if you don't agree with me, I'll make it happen anyway. It is no wonder that people are beginning to remember Max's father.
How long can it continue before he sparks a revolt that ends his reign and changes the way F1 is governed? I cannot believe that the manufacturers, having apparently reached agreement with Max over the future of the sport, will sit back and let him run the show in complete disregard for their wishes. They must surely use their undoubted power to bring about change.
And Bernie is reduced to giving inane little interviews in which he talks about how Lewis Hamilton "should" have won the championship and how he hopes that Kimi Raikkonen will learn to talk (fat hope). These are the ramblings of a man who has fallen from grace and has nothing left but to play with his toys, while his former lapdog, transformed into a pitbull, ravages the sport he once knew and loved so well.
I am so disappointed in him. If any man were able to introduce some reason into Max's thinking, it is Bernie, but it seems that he has given up and prefers to turn a blind eye to what is happening around him. No doubt he will go too when Max is finally shown the door.
It is a shame though. To me, Bernie will always be the man who gave Nelson Piquet his shot at the world championship, the leader of a well-turned out team of excellent cars and the champion of the little teams. All the political stuff that followed is just fluff compared to that. I hope he enjoys his retirement.