F1 is one of the most famous and richest sports in the world and the Formula One cars are the fastest road course racing cars in the world, owing to very high cornering speeds achieved through the generation of large amounts of aerodynamic down force. The F1 is world of people who loves speed, but who controls it and who made all this, the answer to all these questions is a single name ‘Bernie Ecclestone’

Who is Bernie Ecclestone ?

Bernard Charles “Bernie” Ecclestone  is a British business magnate. He is the chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns Delta Topco, the ultimate parent company of the Formula One Group. As such, he is generally considered the primary authority in Formula One racing and is most commonly described in tabloid journalism as “F1 Supremo”.

Formula One executive

Ecclestone formed the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) in 1974. Ecclestone became chief executive of FOCA in 1978 with Mosley as his legal advisor. Despite heart surgery and triple coronary bypass in 1999, Ecclestone has remained as energetic as always in promoting his own business interests.

Should women join motor racing?

In 2005, when speaking about IndyCar racer Danica Patrick, he remarked “You know I’ve got one of those wonderful ideas … women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances.”Ecclestone later called Patrick to apologies, but repeated his comments, before apologizing a second time. Earlier, in February 2000, he said that women would never excel in Formula One, stating “she would have to be a woman who was blowing away the boys. … What I would really like to see happen is to find the right girl, perhaps a black girl with super looks, preferably Jewish or Muslim, who speaks Spanish.”

Following his 2015 campaign for an all women championship -opposed by drivers and manufacturers alike, in January 2016, he declared that teams wouldn’t select a woman driver if they could find a competent male. Susie Wolff promptly launched a “Dare to be Different” campaign to prove him wrong.

When Bernie Ecclestone goes, who replaces him?

It is quite difficult to replace a man like Bernie, he still carries huge gravitas. He has personal relationships with royal families, governments, mayors, sporting authorities but Donald MacKenzie who  is the co-founder of CVC Capital Partners, which owns F1, would likely  to look after this side of the business.

In April 2012, Ecclestone announced his engagement to 35-year-old Fabiana Flosi who was the Vice-President of Marketing for the Brazilian Grand Prix. The news of their marriage became public 26 August 2012

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