Ecclestone: “all tickets sold for almost every race next season”
Bernie Ecclestone has moved to play down the impact the global financial crisis may have on the world of Formula 1.
The Japanese manufacturer Honda has already pulled out, citing the crisis in the car sales industry, but F1’s chief executive insists 2009 will be business as usual.
“It’s clear that the world financial crisis affects everyone, including the car industry. But it won’t affect Formula 1 seriously,” the 78-year-old billionaire said.
Ecclestone said the sport remains a huge draw, with which only the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games can compete.
On a visit to Serbia, he told the local newspaper Press: “As far as I know, all the tickets have been sold for almost every race in the next season.
“Moreover, we signed two huge deals, one with LG and one with DHL,” he added.
“It’s simple: the big guns who want their ad across the whole world understand that Formula 1 is the cheapest way to achieve it.”
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Read more: F1 links: Only 4 races sold out in 2008
Given only four Grands Prix sold out last year - and one of those is no longer on the calendar - I don’t believe him.
Ticket prices? What do they have to do with a financial crisis.
Is he trying to say F1 runs on ticket prices?
How is it even possible to attend a race when they are all being moved to mars instead of europe where they belong?
This foul should give up his position or even better, start his next life.
Couldn’t agree more. Between him and Moseley they’ve absolutely ruined it with their greed. It’s no longer a sport just a moneymaking scheme and I reckon it’s about as straight as all in wrestling. Tickets all sold out?……couldn’t give a toss - I won’t be buying one anyhow.
Sorry for saying it like this Keith, but Bernie’s full of bulls**t.
Don’t believe that for a second!!!!!
Lol I’m having trouble believing Bernie. Besides, its seems a contradiction to me to say “as far as I know, all the tickets have been sold for almost every race in the next season”. Either they are or they are not!
Before I forget, can anyone tell me what the deals between LG and DHL entail, amount too, and are going too bring to F1 (I think there was a post on here but I forget the details)?
sorry bernie… but I also don’t believe you
been looking at various race websites for next season and have been checking out there tickets and not one has the sold out. i bet that you will see a lot of empty stands next year. places like turkey will look like a ghost town
How about China? Those massive empty stands that the filled with giant letters spelling out EXPO 2009 (or whatever it was) last year, are they going to be full?
No they’re not, I’ll bet.
I’d bet that the following races will be sold out:
Australia
Monaco
Silverstone
Spa
Monza
Many of the Asian races will again have empty grandstands in 2009.
Same as most other years.
There’s plenty of tickets available for every race at the moment so I’m not sure where he’s getting his information from.
Australia is always well attended, but it is never sold out. You can always get a ticket on the day, no problem.
I think these are the words of a worried man trying to keep his empire afloat. Global recession on one hand and FOTA being stroppy on the other. Things are starting to unravel at Ecclestoneville.
There you have it.
I think this particular BernieStatement might rank alongside his earlier “All the teams have agreed the medals instead of points plan” and “I’m the King of Brazil, me” for veracity.
I think what Bernie means is, “As far as I know, my good friend Paddy McNally is having no problems getting corporate schmoozers to fill up The Paddock Club again”
Perhaps Bernie should make it his New Year’s Resolution not to tell porkies. Although that would probably limit his conversations fairly significantly.
Yep..
AS FAR AS YOU KNOW…. because you haven’t asked have you Bernie?…
Naughty boy… you deserve a smack… I’ll call on Max…
Crikey, I’d better get my ticket fast or I might miss out!
I don’t believe Bernie at all
I’m planning on going to the European GP next year, and I haven’t found anywhere where the race tickets are even on sale yet!
If you believe that you will believe anything !!
I have tried to get tickets for a number of races and they are not available yet. This is what Bernie thinks of F1 supporters, that we are stupid, perhaps he is right why do we put up with the Bernie and his mate Moseley making a massive fortune out of us, the bias FIA judgements always in favour of Ferrari and always against Hamilton.
The sooner Bernie and Moseley are exposed for what they are the better the sport will become.
well, he was in serbia when he said it, so either a) he was speaking from a remote mountain village and didn’t think anyone would actually pick up the bite b) he can claim that the last time he checked,he had no access due to the latest fiberoptic cable cuts, so “as far as he knew” meant there was no access to info at the time-a shoddily plausible excuse for misinformation or c)he just bought up all the tickets thinking he could scalp them for twice the cost later on. you know, when the world economy skyrockets like his one brass encased crystal ball told him it would.
So, every Grand Prix is almost sold out? Well, maybe he’s telling the truth in his own manipulative manner…
Perhaps the less-attended events such as Sepang and Istambul set a quota on how many tickets they expect to sell, and if sales on even inquiries reach something close to the number, it becomes “nearly sold out” in Bernie-speak. We know venues such as China can bring in many more fans, but I would imagine the seats blocked off that Robert mentioned earlier aren’t included in Bernie’s figures.
At the end of the day, I just remind Bernie that he’s gone from two races in North America to none, and in 2007 both of those events had more than 100,000 in the stands when his favorite young star- who he figures is his next global salesman- picked up his first two career wins.
One point about China - it is never going to sell out as the stands can take more than 250,000 people - at least double what the likes of Silverstone manage.
Half the problem with china is that most the tickets end up on the black market and therefore the attendance isn’t counted. China was pretty full last year - in the stands that they opened!
I wonder what they’ll spend their money on watching instead. NASCAR? IRL?
And the other half is that, according to someone who posts on the Pitpass forums (and went to China 2008), the Chinese authorities quickly realise on Friday and Saturday that the attendance is going to be miserable and promptly drive in bus-loads of “volunteers” (i.e. not paying customers) to bolster the attendance in the main grandstands.
How much are flights to China ?
I’m free that weekend and would happily “volunteer”.
It does make a mockery out of the race to the east policy of Bernie’s, with the exception of Japan I doubt there’s really enough interest in F1 in most of these countries yet.
Most of the new tracks seem to have been built as a status symbol for the respective nations governments rather than to meet the demands of the F1 fans.
What’s the point in having races on the opposite side of the world from your main fan bases in Europe & the Americas ?
Didn’t they do something similar at the Olympics?
At this point of time Bernie still thinks the fans are fools. What an insult! More potted palms will be sold out to block the vacant seats, for sure.
We getting a Serbian Grand Pri next? Bernie will proclaim that he has listened to what people want by giving us another European GP….
Was Bernie Ecclestone ever a member of Tony Blair’s cabinet? He is like an officer on the Titanic, trying to reassure his passengers that all is well as the ship sinks beneath them. What a total load of trash.
His comments about ‘all the big guns’ going with F1 is obviously a thinly veiled dig at Honda for pulling out. He reminds me of the golf country club owner in the film Caddyshack, who always acted with complete disdain when anybody criticised the running of his business.
Giving up North America completely was a huge mistake, one that lacks any kind of sound judgement or logic. Trying to convince your existing clients such as Toyota, BMW, Renault, Mercedes, and Ferrari that all is well, by flat out lying is ridiculous. Any fool could see the grandstands at nearly all of these grands prix, for years, having empty seats.
This is why so many of them are facing the real threat of going out of business.
He’s never been a member of the party, just a donor.
Although Tony did have to give him the £1million back after F1 was given a few more years of tobacco sponsorship.
Couldn’t agree more about giving up North America, dropping the U.S. GP was bad enough but to drop Canada too is just ridiculous.
We’ve lost two very well attended races in vital markets for the teams at a time when they really need exposure in those markets.