ecclestone Archives

Report: Ecclestone says 2014 Grand Prix of America is dead

Filed under: Motorsports

The United States of America will not be getting a second Formula One race next year. The troubled Grand Prix of America, which was slated to run on a street circuit on the shores of the Hudson river and in the shadow of the New York City skyline has been shelved, following the failure of the race’s organizers to come up with the requisite $100 million in funds demanded by F1’s tempestuous maestro, Bernie Ecclestone. The problematic Grand Prix was already pushed back once, from the 2013 season to 2014, and Ecclestone has also torn up at least one contract.

At the helm of the US race is Leo Hindrey, a multi-billionaire and a managing partner at InterMedia Partners, and Chris Pook, an ally of Ecclestone’s and the former boss of the CART. The two placed Swiss financier and bank UBS in charge of putting together the $100 million. While UBS has only been on the case since June, according to the CNN report, that’s apparently long enough for Ecclestone, who told the news channel, “It’s not on the cards for next year. They haven’t got any money.”

Ecclestone followed up, saying the GPoA “is like Donington all over again,” referring to the race at the UK’s Donington Park. The UK track was meant to take the British Grand Prix from Silverstone in 2010, but was dropped before a single race could be ran, due to its failure to come up with the $210-million race fee. Despite the lack of funds, the organizers of US race remain confident that they’ll still be on the finalized calendar to be released by the FIA at the end of the year.

Ecclestone’s decision regarding this second US race is a telling one, though, as CNN points out. Running a race with the NYC skyline has been a dream of the F1 boss for year, and while that dream may be in tatters, there’s still a spot on the F1 calendar that will need to be filled. It’s unclear what will happen if the US race organizers can come up with the money before the end of the year. Click over to CNN for the detailed rundown of the Grand Prix of American and its rocky history.

Ecclestone says 2014 Grand Prix of America is dead originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Aug 2013 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: F1 Supremo Ecclestone indicted on bribery charges

Filed under: Motorsports, Government/Legal

Bernie Ecclestone, the elderly head of Formula One, has been indicted by German courts on charges of bribery. This follows reports that had the UK citizen in trouble over payments to Gerhard Gribkowsky, a former German banker with Bayern Landesbank.

Gribkowsky, who will be resting comfortably in a Munich prison for the next eight-and-a-half years, naturally has a story that conflicts with Ecclestone’s. According to the German, who oversaw the sale of F1 from Bayern Landesbank in 2006, Ecclestone paid him to undervalue F1’s shares while it was sold to CVC Capital Partners. The BBC says Gribkowsky was paid $41.4 million in commissions along with an undisclosed payment from the Ecclestone family’s trust.

According to Ecclestone, though, the money paid to Gribkowsky was extorted by the German banker. Ecclestone believed that false information was going to be leaked to the British government regarding illicit tax dealings, which according to Forbes, could have cost Ecclestone up to $3 billion.

Ecclestone has until the middle of August to reply to the charges. It’s then up to the German courts to decide whether a trial will be necessary. Based on the he-said-she-said nature of the charges, we wonder how much trouble Bernie is actually in. If found guilty of bribery, Ecclestone could face 10 years in prison.

F1 Supremo Ecclestone indicted on bribery charges originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Jul 2013 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ecclestone consulting the American Idol Simons on increasing showmanship in F1?

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Celebrities

Simon Cowell in the Red Bull Racing garage

More than anything else, Bernie Ecclestone is a businessman. And as a businessman, he’s interested in increasing the spectacle in Formula One racing. To that end, reports suggest that the F1 chief is talking with Simon Cowell and Simon Fuller – the creative forces behind American Idol, among countless other reality TV shows – about how to make F1 more attractive to a broader audience.

One proposal the Simons have reportedly put forward would be a thorough reformatting of the grand prix weekend. Instead of practice, qualifying and racing over a three-day weekend, Cowell (pictured above in the Red Bull Racing garage) and Fuller have reportedly suggested cutting the schedule down to two days with two races: the actual grand prix on Sunday, preceded by a preview race on Saturday contested between the teams’ test drivers. The Saturday race would count only towards the constructors’ championship.

This isn’t the first time that Fuller, for his part, has been connected with F1. Just recently we reported on Lewis Hamilton signing with Fuller’s talent agency. Fuller was also the brains behind the lamentable MyEarthDream initiative fielded by the Honda F1 team before it pulled out of the sport.

[Source: Pitpass | Image: Andrew Hone/Getty]

Ecclestone consulting the American Idol Simons on increasing showmanship in F1? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ESPN: Bernie Ecclestone lashes out at the newbies, calls for cutting the grid back to 10

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc.

Bernie Ecclestone

There are ways to make friends, and ways to make enemies. Telling several members of your party they’re unwelcome is a sure way to the latter, but then, Bernie Ecclestone has never shied away from controversy. In his latest statement, the Formula One chief has indicated that the field should be cut down from its current grid of 13 teams to just 10.

The number of teams grew in recent years to adopt Virgin, Hispania and Lotus, but the former two in particular have struggled to keep the pace with the competition. Ecclestone also reportedly feels that there isn’t enough sponsor cash to go around, as evidenced by the lack of corporate logos on HRT’s new car. The outspoken racing chief, however, appears to support Lotus, which he apparently feels has a stronger chance of overcoming its teething pains and catching up to the rest of the grid.

In related news, Ecclestone is reportedly cooperating with German authorities who are investigating alleged corruption in the sale of F1’s commercial rights five years ago to CVC Capital Partners, whom Ecclestone represents. Authorities are looking into the personal finances of German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky who at the time chaired the series’ previous commercial rights holder, and was discovered to have received a mysterious $50 million payment into an offshore account.

[Source: ESPN | Image: Clive Mason/Getty]

ESPN: Bernie Ecclestone lashes out at the newbies, calls for cutting the grid back to 10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Bernie Ecclestone beaten, girlfriend robbed of over $300,000 in jewelry

Filed under: Government/Legal, Racing

Bernie Ecclestone

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone was reportedly beaten and robbed outside of his business headquarters in London, England on Wednesday. The Daily Mail reports that the 80-year-old billionaire and his 31-year-old girlfriend had £200,000 (approximately $312,000 in U.S. funds) worth of diamonds and jewelry stolen from them. Ecclestone was also punched and kicked repeatedly – so much so that he was taken to the hospital for a minor head injury, though he was later released.

This marks the second time Ecclestone has been robbed in the last four years. The F1 boss was last jumped after exiting his brand new Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG outside of his home in Chelsea Square. So far, Scotland Yard has not been able to track down the culprits, though it is believed that this incident is part of a larger recent string of attacks targeting the rich and famous.

[Source: The Daily Mail | Image: AFP/Getty]

Report: Bernie Ecclestone beaten, girlfriend robbed of over $300,000 in jewelry originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ecclestone wants independent F1 rule-maker, Mansell a spec chassis

Filed under: Motorsports

Bernie Ecclestone has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind. The latest big idea from F1’s commercial chief? Appointing an independent body to formulate the regulations that govern Formula One.

Currently, the FIA makes the rules with considerable input from the constructors through the Formula One Teams Association. However Ecclestone believes these actors are too close to the sport to make objective decisions on the regulations they have to live by. The rules have been changing too frequently, says Bernie, and an independent rule-maker would be the best way to rectify the situation and return a degree of stability to the sport.

Another influential Brit in the sport’s spotlight has a different idea. Former world champion Nigel Mansell believes F1 should switch to a spec racing series, switching from constructor-teams to a single spec chassis like those used in just about every other open-wheel racing series (like GP2, A1GP and IndyCar). Mansell’s idea, being far more drastic, is less likely to transpire. Think there’s any validity to either proposal? Share your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.

[Source: pitpass | Images: Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty, Rick Dole/Getty]

Ecclestone wants independent F1 rule-maker, Mansell a spec chassis originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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