As you all may know the most influential man in our sport has been in court following corruption charges over the sale of commercial rights in F1 8 years ago. Bernie has been accused of bribery in a deal to keep Tax dodging affairs a secret. Bernie Claims he was only just paying him to keep quiet (which is bribery...). CVC the F1 holding group who Bernie represents have gone on record to say If Mr Ecclestone gets any criminal record for this or any following cases then they will have no choice but to relieve him of his duty and find a replacement. Now there is a very good opportunity this could happen soon as the results of his first trial will come out in either January or February. This couldn't happen at a worse time as F1 is about to go through a new phase of rules where some serious fears may be realised with reliability and unpopularity or new rules and switch off from fans after the recent dominance. And now this before the season starts could leave the sport in more of a mess.. F1 needs somebody at the helm to produce the hype, raise the fans expectations. Keep the sponsors happy and the money flowing. Something in my opinion Bernie has been lacking in the previous year. So where will the sport go from here?
well the judge has reserved judgement for a couple of months, is that legal parlance for stuffed brown envelope?
Of course this will be the end result. Bernie is too rich to be thrown in jail. And looking at how smug he has been during the case hearing, he knows this. What will happen in the counter court hearing against Gribkowsky? Its like buttered toast strapped around an upside down falling cat
Yep, that's pretty much the sad truth of 'justice', it's scales are weighted with gold, the man has pretty much admitted he bribed someone to get out of paying tax, but I can't see HMRC going after him, they only go after people who aren't sickeningly wealthy.
But if one of us owed them £5, They'd be all over it. It's (past) time for Bernie to go. He's milked enough from F1. I can never understand the level of support he has within the sport when he's essentially just leaching money out of the teams and circuits. Crazy.
I have the slight feeling though that CVC will be looking to replace him soon anyway. If this is not the end then its the beginning of the end.
I think he has done good for the sport, but I think the teams are wrong to say it's all down to him, it's not like there's nobody else who could have done that job, and he certainly didn't need to take as much money out of the sport as he has. I'd also be curious to see how much of that public support is simply for appearances sake.
I hear people saying he's done good for the sport, but any good that he ever did has been totally undone. Most teams can barely afford to race, tracks make massive losses on events, joe public has to pay to watch a full season, ticket prices are astronomical, he interferes and plays favorites when it suits his purse, there's a massive imbalance in the teams and the racing is a gimmicky joke. He's making money hand over fist. The sport has just been a vehicle for making him super wealthy imo. He needs to go and quit sucking it dry.
Despite the obvious conflict, I think he'd do a far better job than Bernie. To be honest, I don't really know who would be best to take the helm. It needs somebody with the best interests of the sport at heart and no bias. Don't want it becoming the Red Bull F1 World Championships though.
Who's writing the application? My credentials: F1 2012 World Champion with Force India Completed Super Monaco GP on the Megadrive World Welly Lobbing Champion 1984
Is that the body Bernie will inhabit when his old one dies? I'm a bit dubious of the title in bold, and accuse you of being a lying wanger Sgt! anyhoo, I'll throw my hat in the ring with my own list of achievments I won with the crown with HRT in 2010 &STR in 2012 I beat Indy 500 on the amiga, (which is probably the most impressive racing game completion I've ever done) I was 0.03 secs off the Games World MarioKart track 1 record Won Geoff Crammonds original F1GP during a full 100% multi-player season against 4 of my friends My interest in F1 goes way way back to when I regularly raced peoples cigarette packets around the table in the pub when Is about 5 (McLaren always won, sorry lotus), didn't get me into F1 though, just bad fitness. If I am the successful candidate I can confirm the use of stuffed brown envelopes will continue
Are you calling in to question my integrity??? If so... I'm perfect for the job. And how could I have forgotten Microprose Grand Prix??? Many an hour spent playing that game. It was fabulous!
lol, I bought wheels and pedals for it (microswitches rather than analogue though, easier to fix, came in handy with multiplayer mode, seeing your computer driven car driving into the pits with a broken front wing just as you were about to take your stint caused one or two 'fits of pique' amongst the drivers) also beat Lotus challenge 1 & 2 (the 2nd one before it was released ) As to your integrity, good call
At times like this, DHC, where there exists a certain amount of uncertainty (sic), all dutiful lieutenants will see their future best served by rallying behind a captain who, sooner or later, will leave a legacy extending well beyond a daughter's inheritance⦠I'm pleased you've made this point, Bhaji. Someone surely had to. The name, 'Geoff Crammond' rings a bell. I never had the opportunity to get involved (especially in the way you did, Miggs) but I knew someone who raved about it as the closest simulation one could get on those early PCs. Apparently, his attention to detail was obsessive: not unlike Kazunori Yamauchi, whose 'Grand Turismo' concept really has 'made it' into the big-time⦠Perhaps if you'd been born to the next generation, you'd have been a serious contender.
