London
Formula One powerbroker Bernie Ecclestone has a luxurious office in London, isolated by his power and privilege, the unchallenged kingpin of a vast money-loaded Formula One empire.
Of the various brouhaha invading his realm over the decades, he says: “Many aspects of life are sent to try us and to test our patience and resolve, but I’ve been through enough traumas and dramas in my job not to let anything put me off what basically is a great sport.
“I am well aware that I am regarded as hard, uncompromising and uncaring and that I am driven by money. I don’t care.
“There are plenty of people in F1 who are very wealthy because of the way I am and my attitude to business and the sport. And they should be thankful for the positions I have taken, not always popular, over the years to give F1 a massive global profile.
“Of course, I have been a beneficiary,and a considerable one, but so have the teams. And with vast rewards.”
One of his long-standing, forthright criticisms has targeted Silverstone, the home of the mid-summer British Grand Prix.
“It’s more like a gentlemen’s club, all blazers and badges and old-fashioned views and stranded in outdated tradition. I’d like to see it refurbished, given a complete overhaul of its facilities and rendered fit for the fans who are so loyal and who have endured so much misery for too many years,” he said.
“It has reminded me of an annual village fete, stuck in a time warp. They should take a good look at the circuits and fantastic set-ups in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. They are both state-of-the-art tracks that have been only too keen to please and make sure the spectators get great value for their ticket money.”
He went on: “I have nothing but the highest praise for the people behind both venues. They have been absolutely brilliant, a total treat to deal with, and have achieved everything I have asked without a single word of disagreement.
“Unlike Silverstone [officials], who dragged their feet for years. The public should not forget when I am having a go and get frustrated, it is their interests I have at heart.
“It’s a shame this season’s championship did not go all the way down the last race in Abu Dhabi. That would have been a splendid climax because that circuit, as atmospheric and stylish as Monaco, would make for a fantastic and fitting finale and bring the curtains down on a fabulous show at a superb setting. That would have been well deserved by all those people there who have put in so much hard work over the years and kept it top-class and right on target.”
Excited over Abu Dhabi
He added: “I am looking forward to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and I know all the drivers, too, can’t wait. They love a fresh challenge and that is what they will face when day turns into night and they are really going for it after dark.
“Sponsors, too, with an eye on providing ultra-comfortable conditions and first-class facilities for their mega-money investors find the set-up fully up to their hopes and expectations.”
Ecclestone’s own high-level demands of his staff finds its echoes in his unbending attitude to slackers and is finely illustrated in the following tale: “A few years back I was having a few jobs done here and I discovered some of the workmen were sliding off to the lavatory outside my office and staying in there for ages. I found out that they were either doing crosswords or reading the horse racing pages and writing out bets for the bookmakers.
“The bottom line was they were wasting my time. They were slackers and I hate that. If I pay somebody to do something, I expect them to get on with it and not take a rise out of me.”
He goes on to explain: “I worked out a plan. I fitted a short-stage light in the toilet, which had no windows, so it went out after only a few minutes and plunged them into total darkness. It soon stopped them dodging off in my time. Another thing, I can’t stand is an office that is not tidy.
Ecclestone’s insatiable work ethic more than likely cost him his marriage to the glorious Slavica, a former fashion model, his second wife, a foot taller than him, whom he met at the Italian Grand Prix,and from whom he split with a billion-pound settlement. “I am devoted to my job, I can’t begin to explain just how much satisfaction and total pleasure it gives me. Every day.
“That enthusiasm and workload may have cost me that marriage, but that is just the way I am and I neither can nor want to change it.
“When I am in London, I regularly put in 12 hours a day behind my desk at the office,” the 85-year-old says, “and I only take about half-an-hour for a lunch break.
“I fly around the world in my own jet, not for fun but as the frontman for F1 with great responsibility and concern for the continuing well-being of a good number of people and the sport which I have nurtured so painstakingly.
“Right from being a kid, hard work has never scared me off. Quite the opposite. I’ve thrived on it. However tough the job or the task, I’ll face up to it and give it my best shot and all the time and effort it may need. I’ve never been any different. Never will.
“One of my great joys has been working with the Abu Dhabi people and watching them get on with it with pride and determination to make sure they do an admirable job that has helped to make the circuit one of the most envied in the world.”
Football interest
He adds, without a trace of embarrassment: “Sure, my position pays me good money. And that is common knowledge from the Rich List published in the UK.”
He is reckoned to be worth around £3 billion (Dh17 billion).
Ecclestone says: “I have my own jet, two in fact, a house in London, a lovely yacht, a hotel I bought in Switzerland - the Olden in Gstaadt, the ski-resort - and a comfortable lifestyle.
“But I pay all my taxes. I don’t dodge anything and I expect other people to share my honesty and my sense of purpose. There are a lot of rich guys - and grateful wives and girlfriends - who are wealthy because of my efforts for this sport. A lot of people in good employment, too.”
For some mysterious reason, despite the immense riches and recognition and respect, Ecclestone has never been in line for an honour in his home country. Not that he cares.
“I don’t want the British government to give me a knighthood or any honour — I am happy to enjoy the rewards of doing a good job and having the appreciation of the people I work hard to try to please. I’ve lost count of the awards made over to me from royals and governments right around the world,” he said.
His parallel, and late-in-life interest is football. First through Chelsea and his big friend Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch who bought the club, and then Queens Park Rangers, the London outfit he part-owned for a while with his then long-time friend, the extremely wealthy Italian tycoon Flavio Briatore, the former Renault team principal and now two-time world champion Fernando Alonso’s manager.
“I persuaded Flavio to join me and put some money into buying QPR. I did think about buying Chelsea, but it was too complicated a situation to sort out the books. And I didn’t have the time to spare.
“Abramovich, who took up where I left off and bought Chelsea, has become a strong friend. And I often share his box at Stamford Bridge or fly off in my own plane to watch them when they are playing in Europe. I never would have believed it, but I am real big football fan now. Soccer is a sport about mega stars - just like Formula One.”
He then adds: “Just look at Michael Schumacher. He is in a sad situation right now, still in a coma after a skiing accident a couple of years back, but what a superstar he was. Probably the greatest driver of all time, full of devotion and intent. What a hero. What a crowd-puller right around the world.
Schumacher, a hero
“He wasn’t the most popular driver around and certainly not the most charismatic, but he was an idol to millions just the same. No wonder. Seven world championships and 91 victories said it all about his unbelievable skill and self-belief.
“And while I’m talking about superstars and unique crowd-pullers, what about David Beckham? Maybe I should have bought him for QPR or, better yet, get one of the Formula One teams to give him a run-out. Maybe we could partner him with Valentino Rossi, my other hero, a brilliant motorbike racer and champion who I would guess could cut it in cars, too. Can you imagine?”
Woah, woah. Take it easy, Bernie, take it easy. You are racing ahead. As usual.
And remember, you did have four-way heart by-pass and were reminded by your surgeon to ease back.
When will he quit? “Never, never,” he insists. “I feel as fit and raring to go every day of my life. The only day I won’t turn up for work is the day I am being lowered into my grave. And they’d better ensure the lid is solidly nailed down.”
The writer is a motorsport expert
