Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone says the Bahrain Grand Prix organisers could be given another month to decide whether they can hold a race this year.

Speaking to Reuters Ecclestone said: “I suppose we’d be safe by early June or something like that.

“Things can change in a couple of weeks… so you don’t know. All of a sudden everything might be peaceful in a month’s time and they are happy to run the event and so we are happy to be there.”

In March the FIA World Motor Sport Council set a deadline of May 1st for the Bahrain Motor Federation to decide if a race could be held in the country this year.

The country declared a three-month state of emergency beginning on March 15th following protests against the government, which were met with a violent response.

2011 Bahrain Grand Prix

• The Bahrain affair was a return to the bad old days of F1 politics
• Bahrain Grand Prix officially dropped for 2011
• FIA reveals Ecclestone's 11th hour attempt to save Bahrain race
• Bahrain drops bid to host race in 2011
• FIA asks Ecclestone to submit new 2011 calendar
• Ecclestone says Bahrain race won't happen in 2011
• Teams have to approve new Bahrain date - Mosley
• How should FOTA react to the Bahrain decision?
• Bahrain Grand Prix reinstated on 2011 F1 calendar
• Ecclestone says teams support return to Bahrain

Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone has criticised FIA president Jean Todt, calling him “a poor man’s Max Mosley” in an interview with the Daily Express.

Ecclestone said Todt, who became FIA president in October 2009, has “not so much had a positive effect on Formula 1.

“He has been travelling around the world doing what Max didn’t do too much – kissing the babies and shaking the hands. It is probably good for the FIA but we don’t need it in Formula 1.”

Ecclestone said the new 1.6-litre turbo engines planned for 2013 “doesn’t sound anything like Formula 1″.

He also criticised Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems, which have been reintroduced this year, saying: “It has just cost an awful lot of money and I don’t know what it has proven.

“I don’t think anyone knows or cares what it is or what it does. I get upset with these things.”

How do you think Jean Todt has performed as FIA president? Vote here:

• Jean Todt’s Approval Rating 2011: Part 1

Image © Red Bull/Getty images

Ferrari 056

Bernie Ecclestone says he does not agree with F1′s planned change of engine formula in 2013.

He told journalists in Australia he is “anti, anti, anti, anti moving into this small turbo four formula.”

F1 is moving to 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engines in 2013.

Ecclestone added: “We don’t need it and if it’s so important it’s the sort of thing that should be in saloon car racing.”

According to Ecclestone only two thing are important in F1: “One is Ferrari and second is the noise.”

He said: “The rest of it is basically PR – it’s nothing in the world to do with Formula One. These changes are going to be terribly costly to the sport.

“I’m sure the promoters will lose a big audience and I’m quite sure we’ll lose TV.

Ecclestone said he and FIA president Jean Todt were “at loggerheads” over the planned changes, saying:

“He’s not a promoter and he’s not selling Formula One to be honest.

“Jean and I are a little bit at loggerheads over this engine. I don’t see the reason for it.

“We had the KERS and this was supposed to solve the problem that Formula One is not green and now we’ve got something else.”

• FIA confirms 1.6-litre engines for 2013

Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Bahrain, 2010

Bernie Ecclestone has abandoned his plan to hold the Bahrain Grand Prix in August in favour of a slot next to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Ecclestone told the BBC “I’m hoping beyond hope things settle peacefully and we find a slot later in the year.

“If there is peace in Bahrain then we will be there, we will find a way.”

Just two days ago Ecclestone said he was planning to hold the race in August, one of the hottest months of the year in Bahrain.

He now intends to hold the race the week after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which may mean moving the Brazilian Grand Prix back by a week.

The Abu Dhabi race organisers have already said they’re willing to have their race next to the Bahrain event on the calendar.

2011 Bahrain Grand Prix

• The Bahrain affair was a return to the bad old days of F1 politics
• Bahrain Grand Prix officially dropped for 2011
• FIA reveals Ecclestone's 11th hour attempt to save Bahrain race
• Bahrain drops bid to host race in 2011
• FIA asks Ecclestone to submit new 2011 calendar
• Ecclestone says Bahrain race won't happen in 2011
• Teams have to approve new Bahrain date - Mosley
• How should FOTA react to the Bahrain decision?
• Bahrain Grand Prix reinstated on 2011 F1 calendar
• Ecclestone says teams support return to Bahrain

Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone hopes to re-schedule the Bahrain Grand Prix to take place during the August break in the F1 calendar.

Speaking to the official F1 website he said: “We need a race in Bahrain.

“If the Crown Prince is of the opinion that his country is able to host a race we will return to Bahrain.

“I think the teams are sensible enough even to race in Bahrain in the summer break, and despite high temperatures, because this is the way we can support the country.”

There is a four-week break between the Hungarian Grand Prix (29th-31st July) and Belgian Grand Prix (26th-28th August).

Average temperatures in Bahrain hit their peak in August in the mid-30s, around 10C warmer than in March when the race is usually held. Maximum temperatures in August are as high as 38C.

Ecclestone denied there was a need for an alternative race in Europe. He added: “The FIA has to change the calendar, and Bahrain has to apply for a new slot.

“The FIA World Council will meet at the beginning of March and could look into the situation.

“I have already spoken with FIA President Jean Todt about the possibility of finding a new date and we both agreed that a decision has to be made before the season starts.”

Re-scheduling the race may only be possible if the political situation in the country improves. Ecclestone dismissed suggestions that F1 should not race there for political reasons:

“Formula One must never be political – full stop.

“My job is it to do the best deals possible for Formula One – to secure jobs. Five thousand people have jobs which are directly or indirectly connected to Formula One, and I want to secure these jobs.

“It is not my business to make politics. We have politicians for that.”

2011 Bahrain Grand Prix

• The Bahrain affair was a return to the bad old days of F1 politics
• Bahrain Grand Prix officially dropped for 2011
• FIA reveals Ecclestone's 11th hour attempt to save Bahrain race
• Bahrain drops bid to host race in 2011
• FIA asks Ecclestone to submit new 2011 calendar
• Ecclestone says Bahrain race won't happen in 2011
• Teams have to approve new Bahrain date - Mosley
• How should FOTA react to the Bahrain decision?
• Bahrain Grand Prix reinstated on 2011 F1 calendar
• Ecclestone says teams support return to Bahrain

Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Spa-Francorchamps, 2007

Tom Bower’s new book on Bernie Ecclestone shows how his hostility towards Ron Dennis cost McLaren dearly in 2007.

Ecclestone says: “When Flavio [Briatore] stuck a knife in my back, he charmed me and said, ‘It’s good for you to let out some blood.’

“But when Ron puts the knife in, he wants you to know that he’s in charge and he’s killed you.”

It shows how some of F1′s recent scandals were driven by jealousies between Ecclestone, Dennis, Briatore and former FIA president Max Mosley.

During the ‘spygate’ affair in 2007 Fernando Alonso waited until the Hungarian Grand Prix to threaten Dennis by revealing incriminating emails.

But he had already revealed their contents to Briatore two weeks earlier, who in turn had shared the details with Ecclestone and Mosley.

Ecclestone later talked Mosley down from banning McLaren for two years (“bit heavy”, he said) and instead imposing a record $100 million fine. Mosley joked that it was “$5 million for the offence and $95 million for Ron being a twat”.

Briatore was later embroiled in a cheating scandal but remains a close ally of Ecclestone’s. The pair share an unusual nickname for Lewis Hamilton -’Jumbo’.

But Ecclestone is less comfortable with Mosley’s replacement as FIA president, Jean Todt, of whom Ecclestone says: “He put the president’s hat on and his personality changed”.

The book also reveals Ecclestone draws a £2.5 million salary from F1 owners CVC plus £1 million in bonuses.

F1 is set to be broadcast in high definition for the first time this year but according to Bower FOM had “perfected” their HD broadcast in 2006.

Among the many anecdotes from earlier in Ecclestone’s career is this about a failed bid for a Russian Grand Prix in the early eighties: “The city’s mayor wanted us to race across the cobblestones in Red Square and put the entire thing through his wife’s bank accounts.”

Read the F1 Fanatic review of “No Angel”:

• “No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone” reviewed

Buy “No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone” by Tom Bower

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Image © www.mclaren.com

Tom Bower’s new book on Bernie Ecclestone has been eagerly anticipated. And not just because there are surprisingly few biographies of the tycoon who has dominated the sport for four decades.

Bower has previously written celebrated books on high-profile figures such as Conrad Black, Mohammed Al-Fayed, Gordon Brown and Richard Branson.

The latter book is a particularly stinging account which the subject denounced as a “foul piece of work” and “really rotten, nasty stuff”. Those quotes are blazoned on the dust jacket of “Branson” like badges of honour.

Is Bower’s work on Bernie Ecclestone likely to provoke such a condemnation? I suspect not – Bower has not given Ecclestone the scathing treatment he dished out to Branson.

The most surprising details in the book are not about his business deals, but his relationship with now-estranged wife Slavica.

Bower reports her public temper tantrums and humiliation of Ecclestone, an aspect was completely overlooked by the other recent biography of Ecclestone by Susan Watkins.

These passages have already drawn media attention following their publication in the Sunday Mail. Apparently they upset Ecclestone’s daughters more than the man himself.

This and Ecclestone’s early days are the smaller part of a book whose central theme is his growing domination over Formula 1 – although Bower makes repeated and telling references back to Ecclestone’s former life as a used car salesman.

Those who have read Terry Lovell’s 2004 biography “Bernie’s Game” will inevitably find some re-treading of familiar ground in the early part of “No Angel”.

The prose is succinct and fast-paced but at times it falls victim to the unavoidable problem of myriad company names, deals, offers and counter-offers making some portions complicated to follow.

What makes Bower’s work stand out is the access he had to Ecclestone. The man who is notorious for being less than forthcoming in interviews is quoted throughout the book.

His words give revealing new insights into F1′s most recent scandals: ‘spygate’, ‘crashgate’ and the showdown between FOTA, Ecclestone and Mosley in mid-2009.

As in his other works, Bower fires invective at lazy journalistic standards, criticising those who have gone before him for failing to test Ecclestone’s accounts and allowing myths to build up. He gets in a few more swipes at Branson, too.

Given Bower’s track record many might have expected him to present a damning account and a ‘smoking gun’.

Although it’s not as scathing as some of his other works, “No Angel” leaves you under no illusions about Ecclestone’s methods.

The surprise here is that while Bower’s portrait of Ecclestone confirms many assumptions about his tactics and razor-sharp business acumen, he also reveals an unexpected, more vulnerable side to his subject.

F1 Fanatic rating

Buy “No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone” by Tom Bower

“No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone”
Author: Tom Bower
Publisher: Faber and Faber, 2011
RRP: £18.99 (UK)
ISBN: 9780571269297

More books on Bernie Ecclestone

• “Bernie: The biography of Bernie Ecclestone” by Susan Watkins
• “Bernie Ecclestone: King of Sport” by Terry Lovell
• “Bernie’s Game” by Terry Lovell

F1 Fanatic earns a commission on products sold via the links to our affiliate partners above, however you are not charged any extra. See here for more information.

This new biography of Bernie Ecclestone hit the shelves last Friday after a five-year delay in its publication.

Originally planned as an “authorised” biography, Ecclestone withdrew his endorsement of the book and it is now considered ‘unauthorised’.

On top of that, another new biography of F1′s 80-year-old tycoon is expected in just two months’ time. So should you shell out for the nearly-authorised version or wait for the next one?

“Bernie” was written by Susan Watkins whose relationship with Ecclestone goes back almost three decades. She is the wife of Professor Sid Watkins who was F1′s safety and medical delegate from 1978-2005.

Having written biographies of several historical figures, this subject marks something of a departure for her in that he is still around to be interviewed.

Not that this necessarily means the notoriously evasive Ecclestone would be more forthcoming than Elizabeth I or Mary Queen of Scots might be if you tried to interview them today.

However Watkins’ access to Ecclestone has helped her gain more first-hand material than can be found in the first major work on him, Terry Lovell’s 2004 book “Bernie’s Game” (updated and re-released as “Bernie Ecclestone: King of Sport” in 2008).

This has yielded plenty in the way of reminiscences and amusing anecdotes. But on the hard details of pivotal deals Ecclestone seems as hard to pin down as ever.

What we get is a more fleshed-out portrait of Ecclestone the person: his working-class upbringing, relationships with key figures, family life and so on.

For several years Ecclestone was wearing two hats (at minimum) as the head of a world championship-winning F1 team and the leader of the Formula One Constructors’ Association through which he and Max Mosley waged their infamous battles with the sport’s governing body. The book is split into two parts along these lines.

Among the more light-hearted moments include Ecclestone and Mosley winding up FISA President Jean-Marie Balestre by ringing him up and pretending to be Nelson Mandela.

Perhaps inevitably, this book presents a more sympathetic view of Ecclestone than that which has gone before. The cheeky, wisecracking character that comes across here is somewhat removed from the hard-edged figure in Lovell’s book. You get the impression that the real Ecclestone lies somewhere between the two.

In the opening pages Watkins quotes Ecclestone admitting “I’ve hurt people”. But when you get into the meat of the book those quoted seem more frustrated at their inability to stop him getting the better of them than bearing a serious grudge. At times it feels like punches have been pulled.

That doesn’t stop it from being the most illuminating and revealing book on Ecclestone’s life published so far. Never before have we has as detailed a portrait of the man who has made an art of ducking questions and frustrating interviewers.

Another book on Ecclestone is set for publication by Faber and Faber in February. It’s written by Tom Bower, who has made a name for himself with a series of revealing biographies of public figures including Gordon Brown, Mohammed Al-Fayed and Richard Branson. In July last year he won a legal battle with Richard Desmond over a claim made about him in a biography of Conrad Black.

Expect Bower’s “No angel: The secret life of Bernie Ecclestone” to be a very different proposition. Despite the withdrawal of his endorsement, “Bernie” may be seen as Ecclestone’s means of getting his version of events across before Bower does.

Have you got this book? What did you think of it? Leave a comment below.

F1 Fanatic rating

“Bernie: The biography of Bernie Ecclestone”
£19.99
Published by Haynes
ISBN 9780857330338

Buy “Bernie: The Biography of Bernie Ecclestone” by Susan Watkins

Pre-order “No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone” by Tom Bower

Looking for gift ideas for an F1 fan? Check out our 2010 F1 gift guide.

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The new teams at Sepang

Bernie Ecclestone blames former FIA president Max Mosley for the difficulties faced by the three new teams in 2010.

In the foreword to “The Official Formula 1 Season Review 2010″ Ecclestone said:

As for the new teams, their problems weren’t their fault in all fairness. It was really Max Mosley’s fault, telling them they could come in and be contenders for £30 million.

But they’re here now and, provided they don’t walk around with begging bowls, it’s good to have them.
Bernie Ecclestone

The words are in marked contrast to his remarks on them earlier this month when he said: “They do nothing for us, they are an embarrassment. We need to get rid of a few of those cripples.”

He also added words of praise for Mosley’s successor Jean Todt:

Jean Todt is a completely different animal to Max. I had dinner with him the other night and we were talking about it: he’s visited 51 countries this year, so he’s been on a the road a bit.

In fairness, he’s left F1 to get on with it, which is good.
Bernie Ecclestone

Ecclestone is currently recovering following a mugging in London last week.

“The Official Formula 1 Season Review 2010″ is published by Haynes. See the F1 Fanatic gifts guide 2010 for more information.

The new teams

• New teams have cut the gap to the midfield by a third since Bahrain
• Di Montezemolo attacks new teams and calls for shorter races and more testing
• Ferrari are wrong to oppose new teams
• McLaren supportive of new teams

Image © Motioncompany

Bernie Ecclestone

Several newspapers are reporting that Bernie Ecclestone was mugged in London on Wednesday night.

Ecclestone and girlfriend Fabiana Flosi had jewellery worth £200,000 stolen from them.

Ecclestone, who turned 80 last month, had to be taken to hospital with a head injury.

In 1996 thieves broke into Ecclestone’s house while he was at home with his family, punching and kicking him before stealing a ring from his (now former) wife Slavica.

Last month Jenson Button was the target of muggers during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend. Ecclestone played down the incident at the time.

Read more: Button unharmed in attack