F1 Racing wrote:
Ecclestone answers fans' questions
AUTOSPORT's sister publication F1 Racing secured an exclusive one-to-one with Bernie Ecclestone for its latest issue - and passed on the pick of readers' questions to Formula 1's ringmaster
By Norman Howell
F1 Racing contributor
Bernie Ecclestone
Bernie Ecclestone rarely gives sit-down interviews: the quick-fire paddock soundbite is his preferred way. But F1 Racing has been granted a rare one-on-one audience with Mr E.
He is standing behind a large desk, immaculate, as always, in a white shirt and dark-grey trousers. A handshake.
"How are you Bernie?" we ask, by way of internationally approved opening gambit.
"Busy. Busier every day. If you want it done, you've got to do it yourself."
He points to one of the two chairs across from his desk. He sits down. "Let's start." When interviewing Bernie Ecclestone, small talk is not on the agenda.
Time, as always, is money.
When are you going to retire?
Richard Bateman, UK
No idea. When I feel I can't do the job properly.
What is the biggest regret you have from your time running F1?
Chris Grabham, UK
[Quick as a flash] Probably giving all the shares in my company to my wife [his second wife, Slavica], and she put them in a trust. And now I can't get hold of them. That is my biggest regret. [Mr E is not exactly tense, but his words come out fast and harsh. This truly is a great regret.]
What is the strategy to attract new fans to the sport?
Kristian Soderberg, Finland
I don't know. Maybe someone else should answer that. What is it that attracted fans to this sport 30 or 40 years ago, and what's changed? That is the bottom line.
Maybe other forms of entertainment, because of television, have taken away a big chunk of people, who would have watched F1 and are now watching something else.
These other things are now accessible; before, they weren't. Football is big, big, big. Thousands of games. We have 20 'games' per year. Just think of the number of football games in each country that people can watch.
And sponsors - they come to us if they want to position their product in F1. We can offer them 20 different variations of where they can go and how they can appear, but with football... think of how many games they play on a weekend, in every country. The world has changed.
What is the driving force that makes you do what you do?
Staffan Karlsson, Sweden
I suppose it is no different than if I were a racing driver. You want to win. And I don't know whether I am winning or losing until the end of the year. If Formula 1 is successful, then I think I am winning.
Do you think you are immortal?
Ondrej Sembera, Czech Republic
[Looks puzzled] I am lucky that I have been doing this for 40 years. I think I've been lucky.
What advice would you offer to your eventual successor?
Ricardo Quinonez, USA
Well, I don't think there will be one person. There will be a group of people all doing different things. Maybe that's better. Maybe that is a better way. [His eyes smile behind his wide-rimmed glasses: he knows that he will be the hardest act to follow.]
What are the chances of V10 or V8 engines coming back?
Adam Morilla, UK
I wish I knew how to answer that honestly. I'd like to see it happen. We should never have got rid of them. People should understand that when this engine was thought about, nobody realised it would turn into what it is. It's a powerplant, not an engine. It has nothing to do with cars, it will never be used in cars.
We do need a KERS, which cars now have, and it works, but this system would never be commercially usable. And I think that more important than that, it is not really F1. It's not what attracts people to F1, the noise and so forth. Think of it like this: if tonight you were to go to see a ballet and you saw the girls in running shoes, well, you'd be surprised. It's not what you were expecting.
If you could bring one former venue back to the Formula 1 calendar, what race would it be and why?
Gianni Fasulo, UK
Argentina was always a good race. The people were great - they loved motor racing in that part of the world. Otherwise, I don't know which I would bring back. Can't think of any races we've lost that I'd want to bring back.
It would be nice to race in France, if it worked properly. That would be good for historical reasons. But, after all, we are a world championship. We used to be a European championship. It's as simple as that.
Have you been seeing Michael Schumacher since his skiing accident?
Jorgen Walli, Sweden
No. [There's a long pause before Ecclestone continues...] I don't want to see Michael like that. I remember Michael as he was. That is how I want to see Michael. If he comes back, that is how I want Michael to be.
Being a former racing driver, if you could drive any car from F1 history what would it be and why?
Richard Ginn, UK
I could not afford to own the Maserati 250F, that's the car I would have loved to drive. [Intrigued, F1R later Googles '250F auction' and comes across a 1956 car, chassis number 2525, raced by Stirling Moss to victory at that year's Italian GP. It sold for $4,620,000 at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.]
What more could be done to encourage female F1 drivers to the sport?
Paul Byron, UK
Well, they are always going to have a problem. Because maybe they can bring a sponsor in, but I don't think they will ever be taken on because of their talent in the right team.
It would be nice to see one of these people in a proper car. It's good to see Susie Wolff, if she gets a proper drive, in the Williams team, but not just for a one-off. But whether she would get the job done or not, I don't know. It's easier today than it has ever been in F1 for a driver. Cars are lighter for a start. Everything is easier.
Why did the Brabham team close?
Alex Bassi, USA
I have no idea why Brabham closed [Ecclestone owned and ran the team from 1971-1988]. The people who bought it decided to close it. That's it. I ran the team for 18 years, properly, either using my money or that of the sponsors. Whatever - it worked. But these other people... it didn't work, and they had to close. [Brabham continued in F1 under different ownership until 1992.]
Why not let teams enter one, two or three cars, as they are financially able? Would this not create a basis for smaller teams to compete and mean that we get more cars on the grid?
Kenneth Shipway, UK
Correct. I'd be happy to do that. In fact, I proposed it.
How much money does one person need?
Mark Appleby, UK
It's not what they actually need... People who have a lot of money don't spend it, you know [there's a glint in the Ecclestone eye as he imparts this pearl].
Unless you are a very extravagant person, people don't need a lot of money: you need somewhere to live and to buy some food and some clothes, that's all. I don't need a lot of money - I'm cheap to keep, very cheap to keep. [His smile illuminates his face - it is rare to see him smile so openly. Mr E likes his own jokes.]
Who would you say has been the biggest influence in your life?
John Conroy, USA
[Ecclestone exhales. It's a long, reflective sigh...] Tell you what, I was a big admirer of Mr Ferrari in the old days, though in the newspapers it never looked like it. He was always very helpful to me.
Pity he didn't speak English and I didn't speak Italian, but we got through it, in the end. We could do business on a handshake. [For years Mr E used to keep a black-and-white photo of Enzo Ferrari in his office.]
Who has been your fiercest backgammon competitor?
Richard Sheitoyan, Canada
I'll tell you the guy who plays, very, very well - and I can honestly say that I have never come up ahead of him - that's Mr Todt [Jean Todt, president of the FIA].
What is the best road car you have ever driven or owned?
Josh Bates, UK
I am not that interested in road cars - I just drive them. They serve a purpose.
What has been your proudest moment so far?
Severine Covens, UK
I can't really think about that. I've been lucky enough for a lot of good things to happen. Some things I have made happen. I don't really look at these things, you know. Yesterday was history.
Why did the grand prix in New Jersey fail to get off the ground?
Brad Purvis, USA
It wasn't financed correctly. The guy went into it thinking he could raise a lot of money. He thought it was a purely a commercial thing. Which is correct, but it just did not happen.
If you could take any two drivers and place them in any era of Formula 1 in your race team, who would they be and why?
Samuel McCarthy, UK
[This question prompts a chuckle from Ecclestone]. The cars and teams are completely different today from the cars of 20 years ago. You couldn't really say... I mean, if it was today and I was told 'just pick who you want', then - provided they were intelligent enough not to cause trouble - I would pick Lewis [Hamilton] and Sebastian [Vettel]. I get on well with both of them, I also think they would get on well with each other.
Neither of them has a big ego, and they get on with the job. I never had any problem with the people we had, with Nelson Piquet and what's the other guy... the Austrian guy, very famous... [Ecclestone looks at F1 Racing by way of enquiry]... Niki... Niki Lauda... [Then he laughs, seemingly wondering why we hadn't jumped in to help him.]
Niki and Nelson [both Brabham drivers at the same time under Ecclestone in 1979] got on well together, but it was a good team all around them.
F1R: Didn't Nelson have a reputation for being a bit difficult?
BE: I never had a problem with Nelson. It's all about how you handle these people. Those two guys were as good as gold.
F1R: Niki can be quite opinionated, too...
BE: Niki was all right.
Aside from F1, what others sports do you enjoy watching?
James Finan, UK
Others sports... well... I used to dislike football, as I don't particularly like team sports, but I can understand why the public is attracted to football. I like to watch good matches.
Otherwise I like to watch one-on-one sport, like tennis and even - funny thing - snooker. Two guys up against it, and it's all in the mind. And boxing? Not really.
What do you think of Sebastian Vettel's move to Ferrari?
Albert Hofman, Netherlands
It was the right thing for him to do, at the time.
What did you think of the alterations made to your 'Think before you drive' sign in Germany, to: 'Bernie says think before you bribe'?
Andrew Gannon, UK
I think it's quite right. I have never bribed anybody, so I don't know. But it is the sort of thing that some people need to think about.
Do you believe grand prix racing should be an all-electric affair like Formula E?
Anthony Crawford, Australia
No.
Why are you so reluctant to embrace modern media technology, like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter?
David Price, UK
I am not reluctant at all. What I have said is that I don't believe that it will attract younger generations to watch Formula 1 - despite what people tell me.
What attracted today's 40-year-olds 30 years ago? We didn't have social media then. And I've been looking at social media lately and I don't see anything there that would attract younger people.
Is it true that you have a plane that you use to fly from one side of your ranch in Brazil to the other?
Rob McAlees, UK
[Ecclestone looks surprised, then laughs.] No. Not at all.
Have you ever done anything illegal?
Paul Cox, UK
I probably have, but have not known it.
F1R: You once told us that in your business you have to walk a bit of tightrope...
BE: What you have to think about... There are things that people do that probably are illegal to the letter of the law, but don't hurt anybody, or make anybody poorer or richer.
If I'm travelling at 40mph in a 30mph zone and I've not hurt anybody, for example. But I could have an accident at 20mph.
I'm not saying people should drive quickly, just that there are different circumstances. And what is illegal today may not be in five years' time. Laws change. You have to walk around every day with a lawyer. [Laughs.]
Do you enjoy the company of FIA president Jean Todt?
Liam Humphreys, UK
Jean and I are very different. I run things so that you can do whatever you want to do, as long as you do it my way [laughter]. He prefers to get consent from everybody, to make everybody happy. We have both done very well and both systems work.
Would you agree that Formula 1 is currently in a crisis? The smaller teams are living a hand-to-mouth existence, while one big team is dominating and ruining the spectacle
George Landais, UK
As I have been around, some people would say, too long, I have seen so many different things happen. When I had a race team, things didn't change. Frank Williams used to come to me, to borrow a bit of money, borrow an engine. People would borrow engines and gearboxes from each other and it was a completely different society.
This used to happen all the time. It doesn't happen today: firstly, the amount of money needed is too much, and secondly I think we have a lot of people involved who have massive egos, who wish they had enough money to compete with the people who are winning. There is no need to have bloody great big motorhomes... I don't think they really run their businesses as businesses.
It's very simple: you would not run a business spending more than you knew you were going to get out, but that's what these people do. And I think a lot of them, perhaps, do not need as much as they cry out for in the hope they may get some more.
[Ecclestone picks up a printout of a website article on one financially troubled F1 team and rails against their failure to organise their cashflow properly.]
Would you like to see your friend Flavio Briatore back in F1?
George Gaskin, UK
I would. Absolutely. He still has a lot to offer to Formula 1.
Also in the latest F1 Racing
As well as this exclusive interview with Bernie Ecclestone, F1 Racing has rounded up some of the F1 tsar's most colourful and controversial quotes in this month's issue.It's a chance to reflect on how Ecclestone makes news virtually every time he is presented with a microphone.
This month's magazine will also appeal to Ferrari fans. F1 Racing was given exclusive up-close access to Sebastian Vettel's SF15-T and, alongside the stunning photographs, we've analysed how Ferrari managed to build a race-winning machine.
And with the Alfa Romeo logo proudly appearing on the engine cover of that car, we've charted the entwined sporting history of the two storied marques.
Former Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has had a tough start to the season at McLaren-Honda, but the smile he's been sporting in the paddock suggests he's genuinely happier than he's been in years. We've analysed exactly why the double world champion really is so cheerful.
This month's F1 Racing also contains a retrospective look at the 2005 United States Grand Prix, when a problem with Michelin's tyres meant just six cars raced, an interview with former Team Lotus engineer Peter Wright, who now helps the FIA spearhead F1 safety, and a piece on Daniel Ricciardo sampling a classic Alfa on the Targa Florio route.
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