There is talk today, from the kind of sources one expects to see producing this stuff, about how Bernie Ecclestone is back, seeking revenge, and being needed more than ever by the sport.
Bernie has done amazing things with the sport and many have benefited from the success but I struggle to see the reasoning in the argument that a sport or a business will not live on without a specific leader: the USSR survived Lenin, John Pierpoint Morgan has been gone 100 years and banks using the Morgan name are still with us. The MCC has played cricket at Lords for 200 years but Thomas Lord has not been seen at the crease since 1832. And what is Ferrari if not a perfect example of the world moving on but an idea surviving?
As I do once a week since the trial ended I have checked to see whether Mr E has been put back as a director on the boards of the various F1 companies. There is no sign that this has happened. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened because you don’t HAVE to file such things immediately, but it is a suggestion, nonetheless that, despite the rah-rah and the cheerleaders, change is in the air, even if it is only in the planning stages.
When you detach your F1 brain and sail out into the realism of the real world, this is hardly a surprise. The owners of the business want their asset to have value for them to strip out. The current lot don’t care about all that is good in the sport, they care just of money and their reputations for being clever men of finance. The last thing they want the world to think is that the whole business will collapse without an 83-year-old magician, who does not have any credible successor in view. If we accept the theory of the pompom girls then Formula 1 is just a heartbeat away from Armageddon, and that would make even the toughest financier pale a shade or two to grey.
Will buyers arrive with billions knowing that the investment could be blown onto a squillion fluttering bits of worthless chaff if one person falls under a thundering red bus?
I fear not.
There is no question that Bernie is exceptionally good at what he does. He could do other things but he’s not that interested. He does what he does and he gets his kicks from it. He knows also, like any medieval prince would know, that the loudest supporters are all too often the people to be trusted least. The retainers do not wish to be buried with the king and they will be the first to cry: “The King is dead, long live the King” when the moment comes, in the hope that the next puppeteer will not cut their strings.
There will be a next generation at some point unless researchers can find the fountain of youth that Spanish explorer Ponce de León famously wasted his life searching for.
The folk at CVC are realists and they would be negligent if they were not considering what to do. I’m sure that they have rabbits up their sleeves and doves in their baggy trousers.
joeblogsf1 
Ehhh Please see as per below ;
http://www.inautonews.com/ecclestone-returns-to-f1s-executive-board#.U_8CiPlv4lQ
delta Topco has not filed any new filings since February, so if he is back on the board, one world expect that to be announced at some point. As I said these things are not always announced.
Yes, the original quote seems to be from the Telegraph here. The journalist is one Daniel Johnson, F1 correspondent, whom I haven’t heard of before, but at least isn’t t’other fella.
Anyway in that quote “I stood down for obvious reasons, but I’ll be back on again now.” note that “I’ll” = “I will” = future tense; so it hasn’t necessarily happened yet, he’s just hoping he will. Could just be careless speech, or could be Ecclestone at his devious best. 🙂
I am just glad we have not heard the name “King” of late.
But no rest till he is confirmed in a new job in his usual line of business, many light years away from F1.
CVC are supposed to have the rabbits under their hats, not up their sleeves – that’s where their cards go. No wonder they are having trouble floating the business.
Sharply observed!
Some of us think the real problem is F1’s inability to engage fully with modern media, regardless whether it’s on a social or technical basis. There seems to be consistent talk of ‘losing the younger generation’ as a result. Never mind that generation – they might lose the ‘older’ one too.
The sport will ‘survive’ without Ecclestone but I wonder if he is the sole bottleneck to the implementation of that engagement or if his view is endemic within F1’s inner circles. Plenty of professionals are happy to pay lip-service to the new media but prefer the comfort of gazing in ‘the rear view mirror’. It would be ironic if that applied to F1 leadership considering the sport’s technical foundation.
Snakes down your pants seems more appropriate, you are right the sun will still come up in the east everyday.
F1 will continue on it seems Mr E is intent in passing on still in the saddle, one can only admire his vitality it’s obvious it’s all he has in life.
Those directorships sure seem slow to return! On another directorship note, I noticed Ron Dennis is the sole director of something called: British East Asian Council – which is registered as a Private Company Limited by guarantee without Share Capital Exempt from using ‘Limited’.
The Company was incorporated in April of this year, raising the question ‘what is it?. As I understand it, East Asia is China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan.
Sounds intriguing – maybe it’s a vehicle for scouting for sponsors to go with Honda?
Normally to use words like ‘British’ or ”Council’ you have to prove to companies house that there is no risk of confusion with genuine governmental institutions – so something must have oiled the wheels to enable this name to be used.
I understand that CVC now own only 35% of Delta Prefco/Topco/etc.
The majority now seems to be owned by somewhat staid institutions, pension funds etc. I have read that CVC would like to dispose of the rest of their holding, but that because of the convoluted structure and unconventional power disposition it is pretty unlikely to be floated.
The recent dividend payout, financed by taking an additional $1Bn loan really shows contempt for the sport and more than ever, labels it a cash cow to be exploited and milked dry before it dies of exhaustion. The debt carried is now over $3Bn.
Sponsorship money is dwindling, probably because of the falling audience and perhaps the feeling that F1 is running on borrowed time.
The proposed ban on alcoholic drink advertising is due to come in next year, and that will hit McLaren and Team Willy. Of course it may be put off or politicked to death but no one seems to talk about it. (I would expect there to be major public wrangling by now)
There is no lack of talent in the teams, but it really needs some heads banging together to revolutionise the financial structure of the sport. Only if all the team heads and the FIA can overcome it’s inertia and get together with a new business plan and execute it, can the sport survive in it’s current format. While Bernie remains in power it is impossible to restructure, he is far too good at “divide and conquer”. Otherwise we shall end up with customer cars, and three car teams, 2nd brand teams. The F1 policy group in theory is democratic, but in practice is a gift to Bernie who manipulates it with ease.
(The odd customer entry might be interesting if say last year’s rules were allowed to single car entrants. Looking back, it all started with customer cars and single car entrants)
We need a cost cap (even though I cannot see it being successfully enforced, we still need it) Else we just let the small teams die and we succumb to Bernorama! (The above mentioned customer cars, 3 car teams, “B” teams etc)
If the BBC continue their unforgivable lack of insight and drop F1 altogether after the current split contract runs out, then unless it is online by then at a pensioner affordable rate, this old git will give up on F1.
It’s free online at present. You can watch the complete Sky F1 package. I wonder if in part, falling television viewing figures are because people are not prepared to pay when its available gratis online. Depending on where you live it may be illegal to stream but certainly in the UK it isn’t illegal to watch it.
Hi rpaco,
But, no, I don’t think there’s such talent among the teams. One of the hardest sentences uttered was “there’s not more than one other team in this sport who can pay a one hundred million pound fine”. Translates also, “there’s nobody else able to make a business of this.”. no, there’s not the talent. Or it would manifest. I’m tired of marginal characters being promoted as the great hope. There is good business to be made. It has been proven. Dennis did so without taking from anyone else’s plate.
Bright MBAs, for a caricature, seek out jobs where they earn team budget money, each year.
Real businesses do not found themselves on the basis of a grace and favor system, as Bernie assembled.
Apex predators value the food pyramid that supplies them prey.
In your criticism of the chilling penumbra the FIA cast over other series, you have been painfully correct. There will always arise drivers good enough for F1. No matter how young or how inexperienced. But there are no constructor teams coming up, not for a long time.
Without the pyramid…. oh, Bernie sold it too many times, it looks like a used car deal. When FT’s Alphaville laments the capitalization of non capital gains, you know we’re in trouble. I don’t have the right cackling laughter to convey such tardy irony. F1 has is, it was debt sold at the same time, Bowie bonds, without the collateral of some good tunes.
That bare McLaren bodywork, looks increasingly like one big FU. I don’t like it, but consider what’s gone on at Woking. I am so disinterested in the personal side of the sport, I only noticed the other day that RD divorced. You need new work focus, as well as a new squeeze, maybe the new work, more so. I think there is gong to be a retrenchment around what happens at Woking, a little bit out of fear.
Cost caps can be enforced. There isn’t the will. Whatever Jean Todt is up to, I don’t think it means the FIA has a role in the future.
Ah – here we go: http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/EmbassyNews/t1161925.htm
Thank you. It appears to be diplomacy in action, with Ron D in the middle. We never understand how the world changes around us…
” I have checked to see whether Mr E has been put back as a director on the boards of the various F1 companies. There is no sign that this has happened.”
He had been completely removed from all F1-related corporations, etc.?
Are there any that he wasn’t removed from?
Hi Joe, I wish I could agree with you that F1 will go from strength to strength after Bernie passes, but I am not sure. I fear there are too many head-strong team owners and managers for there to be any long-term consensus. Look at what happened when the IndyCar team owners split with Indianapolis and the Hulman family. The owners could hardly agree on anything and just flushed the series down the pan. For F1 to survive post-Bernie, there would have to be a fair way to take votes and let the majority decide. Or Jean Todt would have to take firm control. What are the odds?
“There will be a next generation at some point unless researchers can find the fountain of youth that Spanish explorer Ponce de León famously wasted his life searching for.”
Speaking of which. To what extent does the sport and its participants plan for the next generator of administrators and decision makers? How does Ron Dennis think his company will look in 30 years time when he is in the ground, same with Bernie? My point is, unless you have a degree in mechanical engineering or aerodynamics teams are very dismissive of a persons skills and experience. It would be an injustice to any team and the sport if they are restricting their future leaders to a specific skill set. That is just one piece of a very complex puzzle.
Part logic, part having a whinge.
A degree in Mechanical Engineering is not so hard to earn, assuming that you are a smidge better than average. I’ve got one, and there were people profoundly more stupid than me on the course, now running services and companies on which you rely. You should be fretting.
Ron Dennis is irreplaceable. Who would wish to replace Ron?
Who would wish to replicate Ron’s management of the 2007 Chinese GP, when Hamilton ran into the pit wall after protesting that his tyres were knackered? Who could match Ron’s overall management of the 2007 GP season, throwing away three possible championship wins in one season?
But I am not just having a go at Ron. I’ll have a go at any boss who thinks that they are in control.
JS blog needs to start picking a Comment of the Day (CotD) or Week (CotW) just so your rantette gets the attention it deserves, Sir.
Effing Brilliant!
It was Charles DeGalle, who famously said that the graveyards of Europe of full of indispensible men.
Probably not De Gaulle.
Try: http://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/11/21/graveyards-full/
Thanks for that, Phil. I too was under the – obviously mistaken – belief that this pearl of wisdom was de Gaulle’s. Do you think he’s equally innocent of the one about a country with 188 cheeses being ungovernable?
Why does it even matter if he isnt a director on the boards of the companies? he still pulls all the strings doesnt he? Have I missed something Joe?
The board of directors makes the decision in a company.
Anyone looked to see which shareholders have the most sway? I think I read that the Quandt family only own 15-20% of BMW, but nothing happens that is major to the company, without their agreement. I’m a shareholder in some family companies, and have directorships too, and as a shareholder I can, if others agree ,call meetings and sack me…..company structures are completely mental and only really used to keep tax payments to the absolute minimum…bit like Trusts, ask Bernie!
But youre saying that hes not a director at the minute and it doesnt seem to matter. He signed up Baku and Mexico and isnt stopping F1 going to Russia etc etc. I seem to remember reading that even tho he isnt a director he stayed still in full control of F1. If the directors dont actually run F1 then I dont see how it matters. It matters even less if Eccleston or his trust own a big chunk of CVCs fund as they would be winning twice. Do we know that they dont have a share in it?
If the articles of association so permit.
The Bernie sycophancy on the telly last weekend was slightly nauseating.
I’m puzzled by this idea that the sport needs a Bernie-like ‘supremo’ to succeed, and that F1 must forever be grateful to him for his great works. More valuable are the collective endeavours of those (from fans and journalists to engineers and drivers) who generate the passion which drives the sport forward. It’s the same for any sport, and explains why the World Cup is successful despite Mr Blatter.
People who take Grands Prix away from Spa and give them to Azerbaijan only harm the sport.
Yes, but remember he did great work in the early years, making the series good and profitable for the teams to grow and develop. I just think he’s gone on too long and we now need a good management team with new media ideas to push on a series re-birth in the 21st century!
We all hope he does not return with a plan to purge the paddock off all journalists who did not lick his boots.
Joe, What portion of the CVC managed fund is F1, maybe it’s just not that important in the scheme of things?
There was talk of ex Sainsbury man Justin King, but that was a while ago, does his garden need so much tending?
Can’t tell you the money exactly but F1 is one of around 58 projects that CVC is invested in. F1 is probably part of fund number IV which has over $7Bn invested. Altogether they have funds of, or to the value of, over $60Bn. But those are old figures.
So basically F1 is a small part, I would guess about 5% of their current global investment and maybe half of fund IV But its all guesswork and extrapolation from their website. As regards income flow I would imagine F1 is somewhat higher than average.
Ta for your interpretation, rpaco. Even when I disagree.
Don’t think we differ much, did you include the recent $1Bn loan for a divi.
“Joe, What portion of the CVC managed fund is F1, maybe it’s just not that important in the scheme of things?”
There are multiple CVC funds holding shares 100 times more in value than F1. CVC spreads its investments. A smidge of one fund resides in Formula One Management Group (FOG) or SLEC Holdings. In 2006, CVC owned ~60% of the business but today they own ~35%.
CVC is the owner of shares — now a minority of them. When FOG sought to become a public company in 2012, its valuation was proclaimed to be $10 billion. CVC sold off 30% of its shares privately after the public offering failed to appear, presumably at a discount.
Nine years after getting involved in F1, CVC are lumbered with 1/3 of a business that is unsaleable. CVC perceived F1 as an undervalued business which could be sold quickly again for profit. When Bernie Ecclestone is dead, we might understand how CVC were mistaken.
Currently, CVC have ~$2 billion tied up in F1 which returns a few hundred million dollars each year. It is steady money. But that is not the model on which CVC works. CVC wishes to buy fast, turn around and sell fast. CVC does not wish to own a business for nine years. Knowing its limitations, CVC would not wish to run a business either.
It’s not that big, but it has been very profitable and caused them more heartache than other investments.
Publicity != Heartache?
I presume, if you buy in into Bernie, you must be thicker skinned?
Maybe it distracts from less wanted publicity over other deals, who knows..
Not the article I was thinking of, but still pulled these quotes:
When you remove a dictator it leaves a vacuum. The world has seen the result in various countries where dictators were removed for a deemed good reason only to see things get worse. They tend to keep down warring factions by ruling with a rod of iron and by keeping people on edge.
BE may or may not be a dictator but he got more right than wrong and from my perspective the only real major failure was he forgot the fans needs such was his pursuit of big money corporations
Running F1 is no easy affair with all the vested interests. The needy and greedy will be jockeying for position and I don’t see a smooth transition.
New to your blog,
a refreshing change when a writer has the ability and depth to extend coverage of a sport into philosophic realms and broader generalizations thus enriching the read
Thank you
It’s also a matter of keeping one’s friends close and one’s enemies closer. no doubt some of the fawning “thank god Bernie’s back” crowd are also sharpening their knives waiting for the right opportunity.
I believe there is something of an elephant in the room here. Does anyone, anyone at all, truly believe that Bernie is an honest man, a man who has nothing more than the sport’s interests at heart, a man who genuinely cares more for the race that a circuit can produce than the income it can bring in, who cares whether the grandstands are packed with eager fans rather than just relying on government funds to pay for the “honour” of having a race in their wealthy but socially backward country?
And, something I just can’t understand at all, how can a man be in prison for accepting a bribe when the man he was found guilty of accepting the bribe from is free? Either let Gribowski go (possible spelling error there!) or lock Bernie up. Just think, how would you feel if you were in jail for being involved in a fight and the other party said “there was no fight”?
I’m not sure what comes next but the sooner Bernie is gone the better. F1 will continue I’m sure. Maybe with less money involved but I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing.
I believe the future of F1 is for the FIA to take back control of the commercial rights and for Gerhard Berger to run the show. Jean Todt is a very clever man and is currently in the “give them enough rope to hang themselves” phase of the plan, while Berger is allowed to develop the skills he will need.
I think the real underlying problem for F1, is that it has been pushed onto a pedestal over the decades from the 1980’s, and whereas there used to be fans who came out every week to watch car racing all over the world, Bernie took F1 and made it an entirely separate sport. Separate media, separate circuits built just for F1, separate racing with barely any other types of racing at the events, just a show instead. In the past the big race on the undercard at a GP would be an F3 round, and the likes of FW and RD would be watching to see where the next big talent was. I sometimes wonder if any of the team principals watch races other than F1 now.
This has brought about the F1 Bubble, where people in F1 seem to just exist in F1 and have no interests outside of it. And it also brought in the F1 Fan, someone who has no interest of car racing outside of F1, and no understanding of car racing or the history of the sport. All they know and see, is F1, and they treat it the same as they treat Premiership Football. They also display the same prejudices found in that particular sport.
The collective effect of this change in the footpath to being a Fan, is that people drift in and out of being an F1 Fan, as that is all they follow, if they had been brought up on a diet of Club racing and Internationals, they would have a different and probably, more rounded view on F1 than is often displayed both here and on other blogs…..they would also be very, very, very unlikely to ever boo any driver over anything done on the track…..no real Fan would do that imho. They would also find that one can have as much pure enjoyment watching an FF1600 race, as any GP can provide. The thing is it is not the Series that counts, it is the Competition and Sportsmanship that makes motor racing and bike racing and rallying, the best sports invented ever!
Give them enough rope and they will steal the rope!