Bernie Ecclestone and the Great British Foot in the Mouth

No one has ever shed a tear for Bernie Ecclestone, though many tears have been shed as a result of Bernie Ecclestone. Who is Bernie Ecclestone? He’s the head man of the world’s top motor racing series, Formula 1. He’s also 84 years old, filled with terrible ideas, and a recent victim of open-mouth-insert-foot-itis.

Bernie's normal look of confusion...

See, F1 is struggling under some hard times right now. Smaller teams (Caterham, Marussia, Sauber, Force India, Toro Rosso) are feeling the sting as more and more money is diverted to the, to borrow a college football term, Power 5 teams (Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams).

Caterham and Marussia entered administration after the Russian Grand Prix. This rendered the teams incapable of competing at both the America. How did Bernie respond to the situation? By saying:

"Nobody will miss the two teams because they're not front-running teams; they've only got a name that people would know because of the problem they're in. If you want to get recognised, you've got to do something."

He even compared them to Oscar Pistorius, who has been in the news for his lengthy murder trial of girlfriend Reva Steenkamp. Ecclestone said, “This poor guy in South Africa, for instance, has got more interest because of what happened with him than when he was winning gold medals. He won medals and afterwards nobody thought about him. If this case hadn't happened he would have been forgotten, probably. Same with these two teams.”

Ecclestone also flashed out some of his trademark Ferrari favoritism, spouting “You need teams like Ferrari. If they go anywhere and you say to somebody 'Ferrari', they'll know what you are talking about."

It’s good to know that the man in charge of Formula 1 cares so much about the teams. But Bernie wasn’t finished running his mouth. Oh no, far more idiotic drivel was primed to come pouring out.

Ecclestone is, as stated earlier, the head of the highest ranking class of motorsport competition on the planet. His series is well-known for its claim to be the pinnacle of racing technology. And yet, only recently have they truly begun using Twitter in earnest. Bernie, showing off the avuncular good cheer of a lovable luddite, said of social media, "I'm not interested in tweeting, Facebook and whatever this nonsense is. I tried to find out but in any case I'm too old-fashioned. I couldn't see any value in it. And, I don't know what the so-called 'young generation' of today really wants. What is it?"

Yes, Bernie Ecclestone, head of the organization that supposedly leads the world in automotive technological innovation, says Facebook is nonsense. But the most telling quote in that bundle of loosely connected senile thoughts is “I couldn’t see any value in it.” Remember, for Bernie Ecclestone, if something isn’t going to make him another $100 million, he doesn’t care about it. This is a man with a net worth over $4 billion US dollars. His well-publicized squabbles with race promoters reveals an incredible fascination not with providing the best product for his viewers, thereby making him more money in the long term, but with making the most sound, for him and no one else, fiscal investments now for immediate payoffs.

Countries like India, Korea, and others have removed from the F1 calendar because they couldn’t afford Bernie’s exorbitant race fees. Like FIFA, Bernie has a propensity for dealing with governments instead of private investors. Maybe that’s just a European thing, I don’t know…

But Bernie has a way of connecting with an audience…wait, did I say “connecting?”...I meant, alienating…

“…you're telling me I need to find a channel to get this 15-year-old to watch Formula 1 because somebody wants to put out a new brand in front of them? They are not going to be interested in the slightest bit. Young kids will see the Rolex brand, but are they going to go and buy one? They can't afford it. Or our other sponsor, UBS - these kids don't care about banking. They haven't got enough money to put in the bloody banks anyway. That's what I think. I don't know why people want to get to the so-called 'young generation'. Why do they want to do that? Is it to sell them something? Most of these kids haven't got any money.”

One thing we’ve learned from the increasingly incoherent ramblings of this Beatles cover band reject is that he doesn’t seem to believe that people get older or that they can learn to make better financial decisions. But it’s all part of the mystique that is Bernie Ecclestone. And let me tell you, there’s a lot of mystique about this guy…

Take this statement for example: "I'd rather get to the 70-year-old guy who's got plenty of cash. So, there's no point trying to reach these kids because they won't buy any of the products here and if marketers are aiming at this audience, then maybe they should advertise with Disney."

The Bernie Ecclestone School of Modern Marketing, ladies and gentlemen. Only target septuagenarians who have large bank accounts. No teenager will ever grow up and get a job. Nope, from now until eternity the people who are 70 with big banks accounts will forever be 70 with big bank accounts and the teenage hoodlums will forever be teenage hoodlums.

That, in a nutshell, is Bernie Ecclestone. And love him or hate him, Bernie is slowly destroying the sport he helped build into the behemoth it is today.

Formula 1: A Mid-season Review

The Summer Break

Half of the Formula 1 season has been run. Now that the Hungarian Grand Prix has wrapped up, the teams are headed home. The factories will close up shop for a mandatory two week break period. Drivers will go on vacation. Team principals will look over the books before stepping out of the office for a while.

When the teams return to action, we’re going to have one heck of a season to close out. And the first race back is at my favorite track: Spa-Francorchamps.

Mercedes Dominance

The Mercedes AMG Petronas factory team is, far and away, the most dominant team in F1 this season. Nico Rosberg currently leads the Driver’s Championship standings by 11 points over teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg has been, undoubtedly, the most consistent driver all year. Only twice in 11 races has he failed to reach the podium, and one of those two times he finished 4th, right behind Hamilton.

Lewis, meanwhile, has finished on the podium in every race since the disaster that was Montreal. He has one win, one second place, and two third places. I argue, however, that those third place finishes are more impressive. In Germany, Hamilton’s brakes exploded, slamming him into the wall during qualifying. He started from the back of the grid and, within 16 laps, was in second place. He finished third. In Hungary, at the outset of Q1, Hamilton’s entire car basically exploded. Back to back qualifying disasters would set anyone on edge. Hamilton started from the pit lane, since his Silver Arrow had to be rebuilt. He began slicing his way through the field and soon found himself running second and involved in a tight battle with Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo. Lewis finished third. In neither race should he have had a chance, but this shows the dominance of the Mercedes chassis.

The race to open the second “half” of the season, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, is a race Hamilton always runs well. The wide open nature of the track (and the next race at Monza) will greatly benefit the Mercedes team.

A Star Is Born

Red Bull Renault is, for all intents and purposes, “captained” by Sebastian Vettel. He is the four time defend World Driver’s Champion. His team is the four time defending Constructor’s Champion. (And yes, all of those titles will be leaving the Milton Keynes outfit this year, heading most likely to Brackley.) So whenever someone talks about Red Bull Renault, thoughts typically go to Vettel.

But not this year. No, this year Vettel has been outshined at every turn by his teammate, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo. The younger RBR driver currently has a 43 point advantage over the veteran Vettel. Ricciardo is the only non-Mercedes driver to stand on the top step of the podium this season.

At the Hockenheimring, Ricciardo and double World Champion Fernando Alonso locked horns for an epic multi-lap battle around the neutered circuit (thanks, Tilke). A week later, in the weather-troubled Hungarian Grand Prix, Ricciardo once again found himself in battle with Alonso, only this time he had another World Champion to contend with, as Lewis Hamilton’s epic drive placed him in the scrap for the top spot.

If this had been a year in which one team wasn’t so overly dominant, we’d be speaking of Ricciardo as a Driver’s Championship contender. He’s currently about three race-wins off the lead (Rosberg leads him by 73), but the Mercedes duo is going to be difficult to leapfrog in the standings.

Predictions Revisited

Earlier this year I made a series of predictions about the upcoming season. Now that half the season is gone, let’s look back and see just how right or wrong I’ve been:

Driver’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “…there was one [driver] I kept coming back to. He’s been on the rise the last two seasons, is a proven race winner, and is partnered with a previous Driver’s Champion, so he has a brain to pick when trying to figure things out. His car looks to be one of the best on the grid this year, which can’t hurt. For Driver’s Champion of 2014, I’m picking Nico Rosberg.”

Today, I think: “Yeah, that’s pretty accurate. Lewis is a more aggressive driver than Rosberg, so he’s more prone to mistakes. So long as the reliability issues of Montreal and Silverstone stay away, Rosberg should be champion. He’ll have to fight for it, as Lewis definitely will not go gently into the night, but he should win. Rosberg leads Hamilton 202-191. Ricciardo is in third, with 131.”

Top 5 Driver’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “Obviously I’ve got Rosberg at the top, and I think Hamilton will be highly placed, as well. When it’s all said and done, I think the driver’s top five will look like this: Rosberg, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel, Hulkenberg.”

Today, I think: “Wow, that was a bit off. The current standings are:
1. Rosberg – 202
2. Hamilton – 191
3. Ricciardo – 131
4. Alonso – 115
5. Bottas – 95
Vettel is currently sixth (88) and Hulkenberg is seventh (69). Raikkonen is way down in 12th, with only 27 points.”

Constructor’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “I think Mercedes will double up this year. I’ve pegged Rosberg for the Driver’s Title, and I think Lewis Hamilton will return to form and pick up two or three wins. Silver Arrows wrap up the Constructor’s Title.”

Today, I think: “Again, pretty much spot on. Lewis actually has more wins already than Rosberg (5 to 4), but Rosberg is more consistent. Mercedes currently leads Red Bull 393-219. Ferrari is a distant third with 142.”

Top 5 Constructor’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “As I said earlier, I think the Mercedes factory teams pulls the double this year. But I also think Force India will have a strong year and McLaren will bounce back from the god-awful 2013 campaign. I see the Constructor’s Standings playing out like this: Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Force India, Red Bull Renault.”

Today, I think: “My pick here is closer than the Driver’s pick. The current standings are:
1. Mercedes - 393
2. Red Bull Renault - 219
3. Ferrari - 142
4. Williams - 135
5. Force India - 98
McLaren is sixth (97) and Toro Rosso is eighth, with 17 points. Sauber and Caterham have zero points between them. Even Marussia has scored, this year, with Bianchi picking up 2 points at Monaco.”

A Most Welcome Surprise

The Williams Martini Racing team has been quite good this year. Sure, Felipe Massa has been caught up in some ugly accidents (Melbourne, Montreal, Hockenheim), but his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, has placed on the podium fairly regularly. I won’t be surprised at all to see Bottas win a race this year. It’s good to see Williams back near the top.

F1 Goes To Azerbaijan

When you read the word “Europe,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

The Alps? Sure, they’re beautiful. The rolling hills of Germany and Austria? Yeah, those, too. The winter wonderland that is Scandinavia? Uh-huh. The lake districts of England? The Scottish highlands? Tuscany? The Vatican? Yes, to all.

Azerbaijan?

Wait, what? Huh? Azerbaijan?

That’s right, Azerbaijan. According to F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone, Azerbaijan is so distinctly European that, starting in 2016, a street circuit in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku will host the Grand Prix of Europe. According to Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimov, “Azerbaijan is a modern European country that has established a reputation as a center of sporting excellence. The deal to bring Formula 1 racing to Baku is a very significant new chapter in our ongoing success to attract the world's largest sporting events to our country.”

Baku is located 1000 miles East of the easternmost “European” F1 circuit, Istanbul Park. As for circuits currently on the calendar, the closest European circuit to Baku is the Hungaroring, which is only 1500 miles away, straight-line distance.