According to the Express, Bernie is thinking of introducing an entry fee per team per race if the Concorde Agreement expires. Ecclestone said: Once the Concorde Agreement expires by the end of the 2012 season, Bernie does not need the teams to agree to the entry fees, he can introduce them as he sees fit, and doesn't have to agree to the increase in prize money the teams want. Does this then make a breakaway series more attractive, not just to the big teams, but the smaller ones too? If the big teams want more prize money, then by organising their own series, they don't need to pay any money to a holding company like CVC, meaning all the money coming into the sport goes to the teams. For the smaller teams, who do not receive a great share of prize money, then a breakaway series without entry charges would cost them far less to enter. So, is this the beginning of the end for F1 and Bernie? Is this just Bernie trying to convince the teams to sign early? Or have I got the completely wrong end of the stick? Thoughts people?
Ecclestone is asking for much more than is possible so he can be negotiated down to what he wants anyway. He's a clever (if greedy) man in my eyes.
Hahahahahaââ¬Â¦ Good ol' Bernieââ¬Â¦ He may have been a hero in promoting F1 to its biggest ever audience, but he has no intention of handing back anything to the 'sport', particularly if this involves making life easier for the teams, who he needs to keep under his thumb. My belief is that the sooner the teams actually get their heads together properly, the sooner they will empower themselves to break out of this prison and the better it will be for a new 'free' world of top level motorsport. And if it ever happens, any new arrangement should make a bold opening statement that all teams will be treated equally; and that no team will be treated as a "Special case"! But of course this is where Bernie has been so clever isn't it? By perpetuating this pedestal he has preserved the prima donna and insured himself with its loyalty, since unless any breakaway also bows down to the special team, they will perceive their exalted position to be eroded. Bernie's balancing of the books involves two simple strategies: By sewing discontent he reciprocates the favour to Ferrari. All he then needs to do is to continue to pay his annual insurance premium to the red team and agree to all of their subtle - and not so subtle - persuasions, whilst keeping the public in the dark, thus ensuring that everyone (except his special friends who get a hand-back under the table), keep paying his extortionate ransom(s). The icing on the cake is to camouflage the whole operation by appearing to have an ongoing battle with Ferrari. - Classic!
You say that cosi, but if everyone else breaks away, surely Ferrari must, even if they lose their special position? If Mclaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Renault (or 3 from 4) decide to start a new series, and maybe a couple of midfield teams go with them (Toro Rosso probably, and all the teams reliant on Mercedes and Renault tech -so Force India & Team Lotus), then surely Ferrari would have to go, in order to still compete at the highest level? If the new series is a success, and I can imagine Ferrari maybe leaving it a season or two before jumping ships to see how it goes, then they'll be forced to go, and lose their extra funding. If you have the breakaway series seen as the pinnacle of motorsport, then surely Ferrari have to go, or their F1 team is no longer the fantastic advertising for their road cars it currently is? If F1 consists of Ferrari 2 seconds a lap clear of their nearest competitors Sauber, then F1 itself also becomes disinteresting for the spectators, who will then further embrace the new series, which has Red Bull and Mclaren battling it out at the top, coupled with Mercedes and Renault in close attendance, and a decent sized midfield, Ferrari cannot stay where they are?
Exactly! This is why Bernie needs to keep everyone guessing by giving them other things to argue about…
classic divide and rule !!! Bernie is banking on the principals not having the balls to go it alone. He could well be right.
Bernie holds the best hand at the table, but only so long as the others don't get together and start trading cards…
The root problem is the teams are basically run by technocrats, or engineers if you prefer and engineers get far too interested and distracted by minute detail because thats what they are good at. The bigger picture generally escapes their attention hence the opportunity for the likes of Ecclestone who only too clearly sees the big picture and takes full advantage of the team principles squabbling over the minutiae sown purposely and encouraged by Bernie just as Cosi said. The other individual who was able to spot the opportunity and who was capable of marketing a breakaway F1 series is an Itialian criminal named Briatore, who tried over the years but failed to galvanise the F1 teams. Fortunately he is no longer a viable purveyor of things F1 and never should be again. Now another marketing man who is extremely capable of successfully organising a breakaway F1 series could be the Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz, who also appears to be legitimate as opposed to Briatore who is proven not to be. If he can flog cans of water full of chemicals at extortionate prices, then selling F1 to an already eager public should be a doddle. Personally I would like to see a breakaway series created, free of the FIA, it could and can be done, just maybe one day !
Seems to be it is Ferrari that have been making the most noise about forming a breakaway series on the back of Bernie's antics. Seems they woul be the first to go if a breakaway did occur
The other individual who was able to spot the opportunity and who was capable of marketing a breakaway F1 series is an Itialian criminal named Briatore. Aha! QPR have just had a major resignation over their intention to raise entry price to ã48 minimum and season tickets by over 40%... Smells a bit like Flavio to me.
Apparently Flavio is well known in his home country for robbery and was even sentenced to a jail term, but he absconded the country and never actually served his time, now he's over here robbing football supporters.
As Bernie once said: if they don't want to invest into the sport for the long run, why should I bow to their demands since they obviously don't give a ****...
Because if they go elsewhere, Bernie is left with TV coverage of empty tracks and panning shots of empty stands?
He still has the TV rights to the circuits. They can start a new series if they got the balls, but Bernie won't allow them to show it from the likes of Monaco, Spain Britain etc... Everybody gets ****ed if they breakaway, simple enough. All the teams want the money F1 generates, but none of them want to be involved on the business side of the sport. Bernie's given them plenty of chances to become business partners for the long run, they always chicken out because F1 is worthless if the teams pull out. All the drivers are like actors and Bernie is the director of the movie. No director means a **** movie with no profit and everybody goes home poor.
