Let Bernie Talk!!!

[Kati 0]

Bernie: Not enough sex scandals in F1 anymore.

Wed 20 Feb, 02:00 PM

Sport's ringmaster on torture, democracy, hobbits, sex scandals and why he has never taken a mistress...

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone may be willing to admit that he is "very ignorant" in certain matters, but it is clear he has no intention of relinquishing his cast-iron grip over the sport for the foreseeable future.

The 77-year-old has ruled the top flight for some three decades now as president and CEO of both Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, after creating the Formula One Constructors' Association (FOCA) back in 1972. Over the years he has developed a reputation as a man whom it would perilous to cross.

"Me? A bully? At my height?" he protested in a revealing interview with the Daily Mail. "Well, it's true that small people normally try to compensate by being overbearing. You have to stand up for yourself as a kid in school and that goes on through life.

"Do short men have larger brains? If you are an average hobbit you need to be a little bit smarter to stay alive. "

"In the old days it was easier to be dictatorial, but now in Formula 1 we have more of a democracy. I hate democracy as a political system - it stops you getting things done. I think people should have decisions made for them. Torture is just an old-fashioned way of getting things done.

"A good dictator is better for a country than a democracy. Democracy in Britain leads to confusion and bad compromises. In a democracy, the Prime Minister is always influenced by someone or some group or the press. I myself have never voted. What's the point?"

The 'hobbit' reference came in response to criticism from the residents of the Swiss ski resort of Gstaad, after Ecclestone raised the prices of drinks in the town's Olden Hotel, which he owns, allegedly in an effort to keep out undesirable locals. Going one step further still, the local newspaper likened him to an 18,000-year-old Indonesian hobbit found by anthropologists in 2004.

"The truth is I didn't know what a hobbit was," he admitted. "I'm very ignorant, so I had to look it up. Then I realised I was definitely a hobbit because they are minuscule and brilliant, and so am I!

"I don't know what the price of drinks is in my hotel, because I never buy any. I make it a policy never to give anything away. If stuck-up people in Gstaad and elsewhere don't like me, I don't care - I come from a line of 18,000-year-old hobbits. In any case, I don't go into town. I hide out in my house nearby with my wife.

"Slavica likes parties and stays out in Gstaad longer than I do. I don't like that sort of thing. The worst thing you could do to me would be to send me on holiday - doing nothing would kill me."

The sport's ringmaster has been married for 25 years to Croatian-born former model Slavica Radic, who at 6ft 2in tall to his 5ft 3in practically dwarfs him. The couple met whilst she was modeling for Armani in Italy, and at 28 years his junior he admits they have somewhat different tastes.

"I liked her because she was attractive and younger," he acknowledged. "I didn't want anyone older; I didn't see much point in that.

"Slavica is from Croatia; these people have more character and passion. Slavica is a good wife and mother and a bit mad. If she is upset with you, she lets you know about it.

"She moans all the time. She doesn't think I should have a [driving] licence - me a Formula 1 man! The trouble is, she is a back-seat driver and she says I go too fast.

"Why do you think people are faithful? It's only because of fear; fear of the financial disaster of a divorce. I asked Slavica about the possibility of me having a mistress, but she didn't like the idea of that, so I gave it up. It would have been nothing but trouble."

The couple have two daughters together, model and TV presenter Tamara and 18-year-old Petra, as well as homes in Chelsea and Gstaad, a yacht and two private jets. There was also a house in Sardinia, but Ecclestone sold it.

"I got rid of it because they were kidnapping rich people," he explained. "I was worried, as I knew if I got kidnapped my wife wouldn't pay to get me back, so I thought we'd better leave!"

There are similarly rumours that he was offered a CBE but turned it down as he deemed the honour to be not sufficiently prestigious for a man of his standing and achievements. When influential friends lobbied Buckingham Palace in an effort to secure him a knighthood, the Palace is said to have bluntly refused.

"Unlike Mick Jagger and people I have never taken drugs," he reasoned, "and, unlike Sean Connery, I pay all my taxes in Britain. Anyway, I don't give a damn."

From undeniably humble origins as the son of a North Sea trawler man, Ecclestone quit school at 16 to go and work at the local gasworks and pursue his hobby of motorcycling. He began racing in Formula 3 and later managed Stuart Lewis-Evans, who was killed in the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix after his engine exploded, and the sport's only ever posthumous title-winner, 1970 F1 world champion Jochen Rindt. Over the intervening years Formula 1, he fears - or at least its leading personalities - has rather lost its character.

"Living on the edge made the drivers of the past interesting people," he stressed. "Now, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton feel they have to keep up appearances for the sponsors.

"Everything has changed, hasn't it? Racing has become one of the last well-behaved sports. There are not enough sex scandals."

hahahahahahahahahahahahaaha they should let bernie talk more often!!! he's brilliant *never thought i'd say this*

[E.Wheldon 0]

In the old days it was easier to be dictatorial, but now in Formula 1 we have more of a democracy. I hate democracy as a political system - it stops you getting things done. I think people should have decisions made for them. Torture is just an old-fashioned way of getting things done.

Bernie scares me!

[goferrarigo 0]

I don't trust the Daily mail...

[Quiet One 15]

"Living on the edge made the drivers of the past interesting people," he stressed. "Now, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton feel they have to keep up appearances for the sponsors.

Most interesting comment of them all, IMHO

[Rainmaster 7]

Huh, the man talks a lot of sense...in that interview at least. Some funny stuff in there, especially about having a mistress

[Max Mosley 2]

Yeah very nice quotes. And I agree with Andres.

[Autumnpuma 0]

hahahahahahahahahahahahaaha they should let bernie talk more often!!! he's brilliant *never thought i'd say this*

Are you sure you want him talk more? I believe he was quoted as saying something like 'women belong in the kitchen with the rest of the appliances' or somesuch when asked about Danica Patrick racing in F1.

[Kati 0]

Are you sure you want him talk more? I believe he was quoted as saying something like 'women belong in the kitchen with the rest of the appliances' or somesuch when asked about Danica Patrick racing in F1.

well, at least he didn't said they need to dress in white to match the appliances...

also, i do not agree with women in F1 too *yeah, kill me for saying it*

[Crackerz 0]

"In the old days it was easier to be dictatorial, but now in Formula 1 we have more of a democracy. I hate democracy as a political system - it stops you getting things done. I think people should have decisions made for them. Torture is just an old-fashioned way of getting things done."

And with that quote we can see why Bernie HeartofStone is an A class w#nker!! How could he possibly call the F1 arena a democracy? What he says goes! And lately that seems to be the Austalian F1 GP.

One Hobbit to rule them all!! I am mustering all the RingWriaths I can find to rid us of this Hobbit.

[Autumnpuma 0]

well, at least he didn't said they need to dress in white to match the appliances...

also, i do not agree with women in F1 too *yeah, kill me for saying it*

Why not? I agree completely with women in F1. It's one of the few sports that I think women and men can participate in together.

[JayStorm 0]

Stoddart in DTM. That was good to see for instance.

Anyhoo, Bernie is great, I love the banter that he and Martin have with the grid-walks.

[Kati 0]

Why not? I agree completely with women in F1. It's one of the few sports that I think women and men can participate in together.

I just don't think so. I'd rather watch the creation of an specific series, than having women in F1.

[Autumnpuma 0]

I just don't think so. I'd rather watch the creation of an specific series, than having women in F1.

But why?

[Kati 0]

But why?

Women do have a minor physical resistence compared to men. I do think it's amazing for them to want to drive among the guys, but I do not think it'd be 100% fair. Plus even when all agree to ignore these differences, they always become a further excuse/reason/prejudice. I'd rather see a real programme to support female drivers in order to get them to an specifical series of racing.

[HandyNZL 1]

Katy, my dear, you would be onto a winner there....after karts women sort of "get lost" in motorsport, and generally only the toughest survive to drive in series that are considered notable (F1, A1, IRL/CC, GP2 etc) as all along the way they are knocked for being a woman. If there was a womans GP2, or a womans IRL then more would possibly make it to the higher ranks.

If a woman can navigate a motorway whilst simultaneously reapplying blusher, changing the stereo from tuner to CD and chose from five different CD's sprawled in her lap, and tell the kids in the backseat to shutup, flip the bird to someone cutting her off, change lanes, and do all that in 4" heels, then she should manage a few buttons on a race steering wheel!

Maybe they just need more pink coloured cars?

[Kati 0]

Katy, my dear, you would be onto a winner there....after karts women sort of "get lost" in motorsport, and generally only the toughest survive to drive in series that are considered notable (F1, A1, IRL/CC, GP2 etc) as all along the way they are knocked for being a woman. If there was a womans GP2, or a womans IRL then more would possibly make it to the higher ranks.

If a woman can navigate a motorway whilst simultaneously reapplying blusher, changing the stereo from tuner to CD and chose from five different CD's sprawled in her lap, and tell the kids in the backseat to shutup, flip the bird to someone cutting her off, change lanes, and do all that in 4" heels, then she should manage a few buttons on a race steering wheel!

Maybe they just need more pink coloured cars?

we're not talking bout multi functionality or bein smarter, the point is physical resistence, but as a man, I think u didn't get it... *typical* *jking*

[Autumnpuma 0]

I'm not sure there are that many differences, to be honest. Upper body strength would be the biggest, I think, and that could be overcome. The amount of strength required to drive these cars is not beyond a woman's ability to develop. That being said, I accept that you want to keep women in their own series, I just don't quite understand it. No worries!

[Kati 0]

I'm not sure there are that many differences, to be honest. Upper body strength would be the biggest, I think, and that could be overcome. The amount of strength required to drive these cars is not beyond a woman's ability to develop. That being said, I accept that you want to keep women in their own series, I just don't quite understand it. No worries!

[Eric 0]

I'm not a woman, surprise, surprise, and I've never been one (shh George don't tell! As far as they're concerned, Erica from spring break of 1992 was NOT me!), so I don't know how much of a physical disadvantage the better gender really has. But I'll offer this: Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson are quite small. Mark Webber, Alex Wurz, and Scott Speed, for example, are a lot larger than them. That's a physical advantage, and they get on just fine if you take the vehicular disadvantage out of the mix.

I think that there are two disadvantages that female racers have, though. The first is emotion. I've found, and this is not always true, that women tend to be a little more sensitive than men. Now, there are many sensitive men (points at self), and there are many strong women (points at first girlfriend I ever had), but I find that women usually get rattled easier than men. In F1, all the head games that guys like Freddy play could really hurt a woman more than a man, in some cases (I'm trying hard to be politically correct; you caught me). In stock cars, all the beatin' and bangin' could also rattle them a lot more than a guy. That's just a theory.

The other issue is hype. Katherine Legge, for example, got moved up way too fast simply because she was marketable. Yes, she did will in her first year of Atlantics, but prior to that she only had 12 lower-level starts. She needed another year, but it made business sense for a dying Champ Car series to try to fight Danicamania, so they ruined Legge's career and threw her in a car too fast. And for those of you who don't know, she'll be driving for Audi in DTM in 2008. Also see Erin Crocker and Milka Duno for female drivers who got rushed into the sport too fast. The other case of hype is Danica, who probably also got rushed up too fast (she really should've won a race beforehand), who I think cracks under the pressure of getting that first win. This also ties back to the emotional disadvantage, as I think her inability to do a good pit stop is really just her getting frustrated because she sucked at it once. She tries to hard, and she and others put too much pressure on her.

But by no means am I saying every woman is like Danica, because fortunately some women are actually over 5 feet tall

I think a woman in F1 would be cool, and I wouldn't say no to it. If they can get it done on talent alone and not by using looks, marketability, or a rich husband (cough Milka cough), I say bring it on.

In other news, watch out for the Willi Weber-managed Natacha Gachnang, coming to a Champ Car Atlantic race near you last I heard. She's Sebastian Buemi's cousin, for any of you who care.

[Max Mosley 2]

Why not? I agree completely with women in F1. It's one of the few sports that I think women and men can participate in together.

Pervert!

If a woman can navigate a motorway whilst simultaneously reapplying blusher, changing the stereo from tuner to CD and chose from five different CD's sprawled in her lap, and tell the kids in the backseat to shutup, flip the bird to someone cutting her off, change lanes, and do all that in 4" heels, then she should manage a few buttons on a race steering wheel!

Yeah, but can they stop doing all those things long enough to win? During the race, they'd probably retune the pit-car radio to pick up Women's Hour on Radio 4, in between re-doing their make-up (just in case they get on TV) every 5 mins as all that sweat will do terrible things, talking to their kids on the phone to check they were safe (and not eating too many E-numbers), tilting their heads so only the best angles of them in a helmet get shown, and getting bitchy about the only other woman in the race. I'm with Bernie on women in F1 - it's dangerous enough with Sato's driving.

[Quiet One 15]

I can't help but sense a deja vu in all this discussion. However, as we are all bored beyond words in these last days before Melbourne, I will gladly get into the argument.

Katy: yes women and men are phisically different. It's called "sexual dimorphism", a trait that mankind and peac#cks have, but not penguins, for example. It simply means that some species have differences between individuals of different sexes. In that respect, you are right: men and women are different.

I disagree, though, on the extent on which said differences would have any real impact on a sport like F1. It would probably mean a lot in boxing, or soccer, where physical traits are vital.

F1, on the other side, does not require any special strength. Surely none any average fit woman could obtain with a training program just like the one male drivers go through. The main physical attribute affected is stamina. And there are no real differences in such between man and woman (for example: marathon world records are 2h4m and 2h15m for men and women, respectively)

As for things like concentration, emotivity and such, I very much doubt you cannot find focused, cold women in your own everyday life.

In short, I see no reason why women should not be part of F1. They can be part of the police force, they can certainly ride a mostly computer controlled car.

[F1 FANatic 1]

Women do have a minor physical resistence compared to men. I do think it's amazing for them to want to drive among the guys, but I do not think it'd be 100% fair. Plus even when all agree to ignore these differences, they always become a further excuse/reason/prejudice. I'd rather see a real programme to support female drivers in order to get them to an specifical series of racing.

Let me side with you Katy, I think you have a valid point. Physically it is proven men are just stronger, their bodies are bold to build and maintain muscle, this comes from the very nature of the first humans where the men had to go out and hunt. Women have other physical attributes that come from that time.

I think the idea that F1 does not require being very fit is a stupid assumption. Why do you think Schumi was so successful, on one hand he was a cunning politician but he could not have been at the top had he not been the fittest guy on the grid by a long way. Even at 39 now, he is probably fitter then most of the young guns on the grid. There is a reason there is a mens and womens world cup, mens and womens basketball and all these thing. It is because men and women are physically different and thus play very different games. if you watch Basketball women play a far more technically game while men play far more physically. the same goes in soccer.

I think this difference would probably very well lend itself to racing. I think a womens racing league would be far more reliant of technique and strategy while mens leagues would be far more physical. Men would rely far more on muscling the car around and rectifying mistakes via brute force, throwing the car far more. while womens racing would be far more about the perfect line and perfect application of throttle and brake. I think even when you watch F1 today you can see how sometimes drivers will try and pull moves where racing technique is just thrown out the window and force is used. Trying to out brake someone very far into the corner and just standing on the brakes and then throwing the wheel around. Look at most of the great drivers, they were all over steer drivers, constantly moving the wheel and doing something with their feet.

So what is my point? I think it would probably be unfair for the men. With a far more sound reliance on the art of driving women could wipe the floor with men. For me, I would definitely watch both, I would watch men's racing to see all the stupid stuff we do and women's racing for great technique

[HandyNZL 1]

I'm with my sister Erica...er, I mean, my man, Eric regarding the emotions...I think it was the second to last race of the season ('07) and Dannica had something go wrong, or she overshot the pits or something, but they played her radio on air, and it was like she was crying as if her dear old grandma had just passed away.

That said, Katy, I was only taking the piddle about doing the makeup and everything as you drove along. I think an all womens class has merit. And then those that are good enough can mix it with the boys, and those that can handle it will continue mixing it with the boys and "the boys club", whilst others can step back to the all womens series and build up their race craft and bulls##t deflectors a bit more.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

I'm with my sister Erica...er, I mean, my man, Eric regarding the emotions...I think it was the second to last race of the season ('07) and Dannica had something go wrong, or she overshot the pits or something, but they played her radio on air, and it was like she was crying as if her dear old grandma had just passed away.

And what about Mika boo-hooing in the bushes?

I think a lot of this male vs female stuff is rubbish. Women could just as easily compete in F1 - there are plenty of fit women (asking for trouble by making that comment ) and plenty of women who can drive fast e.g. viewers of Top Gear will have seen already that supermodel Jodie Kidd and round the world yachtswomen Ellen Macarthur both demolished lap-times of most/all men in their celebrity challenge round a track, some of whom were no slouches.

Interesting fact: US Air Force is favouring more women pilots as they have discovered that they can handle G-Forces better than men.

The reality is that a ) it is harder for women to get to the level of a Hamilton/Alonso/Raikonnen b ) There is a lack of female talent entering the sport - it is not typically a "girl thing" and as we all know, the most successful racers started young c ) sponsorship, whilst seemingly plentiful is not easy to come by. I have watched the career of Sarah Kavanagh http://www.sarahkavanagh.com/ another lady racer and her progress has been dogged by lack of sponsorship. Some sponsors like the idea of a woman in motor racing, but many are scared by it/want to see proof/are worried about possible negative PR. Lack of money = lack of driving opportunities = lack of time to develop = poor results = lack of money and so into a vicious circle.

Alternatively, a lady driver gets thrown into a series before they are really ready and in the media glare every minute problem gets magnified and expectations are usually set too high. As media interest wanes, so does team support and they quietly exit stage left.

The only way I can see a successful lady driver would be a Hamilton-type scenario where a team sponsors a young and up and coming lady driver from an early age. With that support and training, I don't see why they could not compete with the best.

[HandyNZL 1]

Which are all the more reasons for a womens only class.

Never said that they can't handle it. It's more a get-the-recognition-and-don't-get-forced-too-far-too-fast thing.

Dropping women into what is pretty much exclusively a "boys club" has proven not to work. If we want to see more women in the higher classes and formula, then they should be given somewhere that they can grow and learn and become more confident. Then if they really are up to it, then they can move up...

As for Mika...well....he was a pansy