London: Bernie Ecclestone, oblivious to the recognising stares of the well-heeled heading for Harrods, bustles from his limo into a restaurant neighbouring the famous London department store.
It is his 82nd birthday and I am invited to join him — not so much to celebrate the milestone as to play catch-up on the latest Formula One gossip and be updated on his feedback. Well, you could hardly call it a celebration when, teetotaller that he is, he sips from a glass of iced water ahead of a bowl of spaghetti, with me invited to do the same.
But that’s Bernie through and through — never a man to overdo the high jinks, whatever the occasion, when there is business to be talked about.
And nothing has changed either in the 30-odd years we have been friends or since his days as a second-hand car salesman, long before he became the Formula One powerbroker in the 70s with more than £2 billion in the bank... all taxes paid, he insists as a laughing aside.
The fishing trawler skipper’s son’s humble beginnings may be distant memories, but he never loses sight of the need and, yes, the overwhelming and tireless desire to be good and better at his job of maintaining his chosen sport, and his fervent passion, as one of the world’s leading attractions for the public at large. That includes finding, encouraging sponsors and backers and developing venues like the Yas Marina as a masterpiece of showcasing exemplified by the rave reports heaped on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Back to our Knightsbridge lunch — him picking up the tab — five minutes drive from the Hyde Park-view HQ he bought from arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi.
Why, with his connections, presence and vast fortune, would he choose these comparatively anonymous surroundings for his one-hour break, usually alone, from the daily 12-hour rigours of running Formula One circus?
It’s a comfort zone, an escape, that’s why. And familiarity of surroundings, with its hordes of movers and shakers, is crucial to Ecclestone’s peace of mind. Nobody bothers him. And he likes that.
Sense of fun
He has no bodyguards. And here, tucked away in a corner seated at his regular table, undemanding of any fuss, is where the real Bernie Ecclestone reveals himself and his inner attitudes and surprising sense of fun. It is a distant remove from the rarely smiling figure, often featured so straightfaced on TV’s pre-race grid shots, who bestrides F1 so royally.
For a man whose feet rarely touch the ground, such are the worldwide demands on the time he is only too happy to give to his sport, he is remarkably down to earth. An hour spent one-to-one with him over lunch reveals two truths — his deadpan sense of humour and his selfless devotion to a duty that has rendered vast riches to many, himself included.
Does retirement ever cross his mind? He gives me a stare that suggests I must be crazy to ask. “Never, never, never,” he says with his familiar menacing sounding whispered voice. Not even to give more attention to his new wife — his third, a Brazilian lawyer half his age — or spend more time at his luxury hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland, the scene of his wedding in mid-summer, aboard his vast motor yacht, or flying around the world in one of his two private jets, one a 50-seater?
“No, no, no,” he says. “I enjoy all that stuff, they are the rewards of my hard work over the years, but the kicks I get from running this sport are too great to give up. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. And I couldn’t hand it over to anybody else. Anyway, who would be mad enough to put in the amount of effort I do?”
Leaning forward towards me for emphasis and without the trace of a smile, he adds: “The first day I don’t go to work is the day I will be in a coffin being lowered into my grave. And that won’t be for a long time to come. I feel as fit as a fiddle.”
That is despite a quadruple heart bypass six years ago when, only at his then wife Slavica’s insistence, he took time off for the procedure. Ecclestone tugs open the top of his shirt and displays the scar that, he reveals, reminds him it is always worth listening to somebody else when they have good advice to offer.
It is an admission which would surprise those who believe he is immovable but he adds: “It’s a crucial lesson I have learned. It is always worth listening when you value the opinion of people you can trust.” His opinions on F1 matters are rarely tested and that is why it is the world’s richest sport, watched by hundreds of millions around the globe.
Great set-up
“I have made my judgements and have been ready to live or perish by them. I have moved our sport into areas some people thought would never work. Bahrain is one, and what a success story that is... and now there is Abu Dhabi.
“When Bahrain approached me I was more than happy, and ready, to give them the go-ahead. They spent $150 million (Dh551 million) and it took six months to complete the project. But what they have is an exciting, state-of-the-art set-up that is great for spectators, teams and VIPs alike. It is now the same with the Abu Dhabi. I must confess my conditions of contract were pretty strict — but I am running a sport that demands the best of everything.
“We are showbiz and I insist that the venues are world-class. And when you work out the massive advantages in tourism and global recognition for whatever region a race is set the returns for the outlay are fabulous value for money.”
He charges between $20m and $40m to licence a venue for a Grand Prix and then monopolises the on-track advertising, while the tracks are granted gate money access. Korea and India are the latest venues to enjoy Bernie’s blessings. And he has extended the race programme to 20 events with Russia and the US in the pipeline.
Has he ever had ever had any doubts about Abu Dhabi’s ability to stage such a massive world class event? “Not for one second,” he said.
“We talked a lot, I told them exactly what was required and the great thing about those involved right from the start, right from the first ideas, just like Bahrain, was that nothing was too much trouble or too much of an effort.
“They got on with the job and were ready, willing and more than able to put in all the sweat needed to carry on the necessary work exactly as I wanted it to be. The absolutely brilliant results are there for all the world to see when Yas Marina puts on the Grand Prix.”
