Comments on: Ten jobs for Ecclestone – one year on

By: Arthur 954

Arthur 954 — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 22:27:58 +0000

Good idea ! Vegas would be cool, plus its not that far away from L.A. so it would have a good crowd. Excellent !
They could have a special grandstand with people betting on the outcome of the race, with brokers with a cigar and fistloads of money going up and down the stands !
Seriously, Las vegas could be a good venue

As for the rest, all good points by Keith, but I have to admit that I have given up on Bernie, specially at this late hour of the night so I will say my prayers and go to bed good night to all !

By: Brits on Pole - LJH

Brits on Pole - LJH — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:46:22 +0000

For me, point 10 hits the nail on the head – succession. After all, Mr Ecclestone is 77 years old, which is quite an age to be at the head of a vast business empire.

When a sport is so dependent on one man, when that man is nearly 80, and when it is not clear what he intends the future of his business to be, then surely that has major implications? For investors, if for no-one else?

It’s always puzzled me that this isn’t more of a widely-discussed issue – and it makes me wonder if the BRDC’s stoical attitude about losing the British GP is partly based on knowing that they won’t have the Bernie problem in a decade’s time (apologies if this sounds callous).

By: Steve K

Steve K — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:24:56 +0000

I am not sure of the work this would require, but the next best thing to the Monaco GP would be a USGP through the streets of Vegas. How about right down the strip? Someone out there has to have the coin to make it happen.

By: DG

DG — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:32:30 +0000

The comment at the start of this article is most relevent – Max reads the blogs but Bernie doesn’t. Max might actually care about what the fans want, but Bernie just thinks about Bernie (and maybe CVC).
Perhaps Keith could find a way to send our comments to the FOM PR people? I know you have links from here to other blogs and websites – get the word out that Mr Ecclestone REALLY needs to pay attention to the fans, or all his high-cost schemes (ie Singapore Night Races) might not be so worthwhile. Perhaps a boycott of F1.com would stir things up, and ignore FOM press releases. (I’m sure they must be mostly about Bernie anyway).
This is probably too radical for us laid-back F1 fans, but something needs to be done to get our point of view across…..

By: the limit

the limit — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:37:54 +0000

On the whole I think Ecclestone is doing a reasonably good job, and that Formula One is in a healthy condition. I would love to see more up to date material online though, including more ‘full races’ that had already been broadcast on tv.
The more exposure the better as far as I am concerned.
As far as Silverstone goes, I cannot see Bernie dropping it from the calender, but I can not see it improving too much either. It really needs government funding to get the facilities up to Chinese, or Bahrain type standards. You can’t expect a private enterprise to invest $100 to $200 million without there being some incentive.
I have nothing against Donington Park, but the track itself, as far as I am concerned is not as exciting as Silverstone.
I am confident that the U.S Grand Prix will return, and I hope to another track other than Indianapolis. All in all, I think Bernie has it covered.

By: Gman

Gman — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:20:05 +0000

On the topic of the 20-race calendar, I follow the lead of Bernie, as well as most fans, of being all in support of it and more. In my view, the key issue is not the number of GPs, but how Bernie and his people plan out the season. Start things earlier in the season and match up obvious races- Bahrain and Abu Dhabi- on flyaways, for example. Second, in addition to bringing back the USGP, don’t forget more traditional destinations for revival- South Africa, Portugal(which has a brand-new F1-spec circuit), Aregentina(if someone comes up with a good venue) and Mexico can all get a shot.

I think we can all agree on the website developments and hi-def broadcast signals- these are the key mediums of access for nearly every fan, and developing a top-notch operation in this aspect is critical for growing the international F1 fanbase. I should note that this also includes FOM allowing some F1 videos of some sort to be posted on YouTube- even if they set a cut-off date where no footage from before that season can be posted.

Finally, it’s great news for all fans that a new F1 video game is in the works. The one point I should stress about it is that the game MUST be sold in the U.S.- we went from the 2001 to 2006 versions of the game without it being sold here, and and not having the new game on our shelves will be a massive mistake. I’ve talked about this on here before, but the outstanding early-90′s F1 game Super Monaco GP for Sega Genensis was how I was introduced to F1 in 1991, and while I diden’t start to follow the sport until 2007, it gave me an appreciation for it for all those years leading up to me catching the F1 bug. The new F1 game can do the same for thousands of other Americans, so let’s see it on our shelves!!

By: Gman

Gman — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:03:58 +0000

I’m with you every step of the way on the USGP Wesley- keep up the support and hopefully we’ll all be enjoying it very soon. And to build on that topic, Bernie can do a great deal of good for the success of the USGP and F1 in America by making a few simple statements about the importance of the American market. Over the past few years, Bernie has had several memorable negative remarks about the US market for F1- a few kind and cooperative words from him would go a long way towards building and expanding the U.S. fanbase for F1.

The topic of securing the future of the British GP is vitally important to the well-being of F1. While Donnington apparently has plans in place, I still don’t feel good about the race having a secure home after next season, and if things don’t develop and a future F1 calendar dosen’t ahve a British GP, it will indeed be a tragety. Great Britain is the epicenter of Formula 1, and Bernie surley must ensure the future of the event for the good of everyone involved in the sport.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:15:43 +0000

I can not believe that Britain could possibly lose it’s G.P…I don’t think that would happen but,I also never considered F1 would be taken from one of it’s biggest markets.

BRING F1 BACK TO THE U.S.A.!!!( I mean it Bernie! )

By: jay

jay — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 17:01:32 +0000

you forgot Bernie’s main job.

making lot’s of money for Mr B. Ecclestone.

By: Noel

Noel — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:55:48 +0000

My top tip for Bernie for the next twelve months would be keep up the (mostly) good work.

The sport, to me, seems to be improving as a spectacle, with more exciting races, more interesting drivers and a nice bunch of circuits to pick and choose. He needs to keep the focus on the racing and out of the politics.