@GINGER_GITT didn't I said that you are a bright light, so what the hell are you talking about now

fototedlondona4: It is true than Bernie and his running of FOM helped bring F1 out of near failure. And he is to be applauded for that. But things aren't quite as rosy s things seem. Bernie has made a couple of billion in his lifetime, most of which has come from F1. However he has made that by running a company he only owns 25% of, and while he is personally getting richer the business he runs isn't. F1 and FOM are sitting on over $2 billion of debt and have interest payments of $230 million per year on this "overdraft". Bernie may have pulled F1 out of the fire once, but his actions and his greed look very close to driving it back there again.

stivsf1: You really should take your own advice and think before you post. You criticise but without ever saying anything of value, ever. What is wrong with the idea of Bernie actually "earning" his money by helping to promote races and reducing his cut of this multi-billion dollar industry? Of course he isn't going to volunteer to do it, but that doesn't mean it couldn't be forced upon him.

I will admit that A1 GP racing is starting to tickle my fancy more and more. Here you have countries who are not expected to fork out millions to hold races, but each country has its own team and its own drivers.
Its fast, its loud and the drivers are really allowed to fight and race! Each team is given the basics and what they do with it is up to them. They also have a special power boost which really heats things up and makes for a very exciting race!!!
Its the style of racing that first attracted me to F1. Bernie and his bunch of crooks have taken the sport out of F1 and made it a glamor sport for the rich. A1 GP racing is racing at its best. Well worth the time to pay it a little more attention and give it a fair chance. If there was an F1 race at Donnington Park and a A1 GP at Silverstone on the same weekend, after 30 years of following F1 I would choose Silverstone and the A1 GP out of principle. I would be assured of a far more exciting race.

...bernie is a rich little moron...

fototedlondona4 your talking bull?hit...

Look people that old grey haired ?sshole Ecclestone needs to be pushed out of F1,He is the most greedy corrupt S,O,A,B sports figure head ever to walk the plannet..How can he possibly want that much to keep the F1 GP in Canada,and of course its not the only place he has fcuked up,as somebody mentioned Silverstone the home of F1 racing as far as im concerned..whats needed here is somebody that doesent have a favorate TEAM or PERSONAL GAIN AT HEART..@#$% off Ecclestone and let the real fans of the sport undo what you have so greedely created ....Proper and fair racing without all of these after the race rules that seem to happen now and then..Let the men RACE and get on with it BUT without cutting corners and safety issues..Regards

Ecclestone has a ciminal record & has been inside so what more can you expect from a convicted felon.

SHAUN C [93] I am not going to question your competence in running your business that’s your business. B.E can afford to do business the way he does and get away with it because he have more requests from new tracks on his desk then he can handle

Gentleman lets leave this page be and go concentrate on the best peace of news for a very long time MERCEDES ROAD CAR TO RACE PEDAL BIKE JUST BEFORE THE RACE OF CHAMPIONS

As someone who ownes his own business I know that sometines you have do things that you are not too proud of however there are limets & Bernie has gone way over the line there is only a certain amount of money that anybody or any business needs after that it just becomes sheer greed & Bernie exceeded that years ago the sad truth now is the only way that the teams can get a fair deal is to leave even if they have to fork out millions to break contracts but sadly not one of them has the courage to do it & he knows it & that is why he will continue to get away with it

Personally I think tracks shouldn’t be paying him at all, but if he gets anything it should be a percentage share of revenues. If anybody is in doubt please read post [86] by GINGER_GITT. I am more convinced then before that he is the brightest light ever. The incredible thing is why has nobody snatched him up to run one of the many financial institutions he will sure turn their millions into billions.
They honestly believe they know every thing from A-TO-Z and rush to print without any consideration for their own limitations. As I told MGA a fast cat will make blind kittins

Frank Zappa hey your back
Bernie sells out to the highest bidder look at the Singapore track if you can call it that no straights no where to over take its not racing but the moneys good.

larson41--83
you simply write imagination totally inaccurate untrue unfounded thoughts
F 1 today only survives due to Bernie astute business acumen ___ -- HE DRAGGED THEM out of DEBT
when he took over F 1 was bankrupt .,., ! Now F 1 has surplus cash thanks to him alone
he has turned F 1 into a thriving worldwide business with all teams benefitting by MILLIONS $£$£

Sadly there is now a world crisis recession in ^^ALL^^ sectors _--untold job losses in ALL areas
but thanks to Bernie MAYBE F1 can survive in reduced circumstances

Seriously Adrian W., demanding that Bernie actually work to earn his fee? Why should he do that when he can hold these idiots up for millions just for the opportunity to spend millions more to promote and hold the race with absolutely no chance to recoup your expenditures. That is why the races at Indy, Canada, France, and soon Silverstone have lost, or are very probably going to lose their race dates. The contracts were with private promoters, cities, and clubs. All of the new race dates are at locations with governments contributing to the kitty. I also expect to see Australia and possibly Germany / Belgium to lose their dates within the next two to five years. I will probably have to get my racing fix from ALMS, GrandAm, and IndyCar for the next few years. Their whole seasons don't cost what one F1 date costs. Get Real Bernie!

It's not fair when Bernie asks for $35 million a year from Canada and charges Monaco nothing. Bernie picks and chooses what grand prix races he wants and he's made it quite clear he doesn't want the United States, Canada or England.

If one need only one shred of evidence to indicate that Bernie Ecclestone is lacking sound judgement, then one need look no further than his hairdoo. And I say hairdoo because that's what old ladies call them. As in, Bernie Ecclestone looks like an old lady with his Beatles moptop. At least grow a goatee or something, y'know to make sure people know you're a fella, Bernice.

mga: There's really no point in asking stivsf1 anything at all. He is cut from the same cloth as mouronroute - questions just bounce off them. I do get what you are saying though, why is stivs constantly badgering for proof the money is outstanding? Why not ask for proof it has been paid since only one person has claimed this and a few have said it hasn't been paid? He seems to have accepted the view of the one and is desperate for those who claim Canada still own money to prove it or forever be considered wrong. But asking him to prove anything is like being able to phone Elvis and get a direct number for Marilyn Monroe - its not going to happen.

And regardless of what Canada still owes from previous years, $175m for the next five is still too much. $35m a year guaranteed for Bernie, nothing guaranteed for the organisers except that a loss is more likely than a profit. Personally I think tracks shouldn't be paying him at all, but if he gets anything it should be a percentage share of revenues. This might encourage him to actually work for his money, if he increases the tracks revenues then he increases his share of the pie.

Well Mr ollieboyyy (alias Big It - but you are Spannish so you will not undertand) the only cheese here is smelly old you, are you so upset that your father has stopped sweeping th garage and left for witzerland, didums.

stivsf1 so ill ask you again!do you have any proof to the contrary as to the alleged money owed

The fact that there are approximately 18 countries that have people who willingly give in to the blatant piracy practiced by Bernie is unbelieveable. Are they so blind that they can't see that he is using F1 and the possibility for them to make a little money from a race weekend, to extort exhorbant fees from them that only end up in his private bank accounts. I wonder what his tax liability is, or if he actually pays any income tax to any country. I wluld wager a large sum of money, if I had it, that a dedicated CPA could discover something if he were able to uncover where he has deposited his money and traced the method of payment he uses. It wouldn't surprise me if something was eventually discovered. My supposition is that given some of the countries he has involved himself and f1 in, that somewhere fees have been transferred that probably shouldn't have been. That, unfortunately is, however, the way business is conducted in the middle east and asia.

My contention is that Bernie created his position in a fashion that was patently dishonest and he has furthered his own monitary ends using a very lightly disguised form of extortion. His demands at Silverstone and Canada / USA are evidence that you have to pay the piper, Bernie, in order to play the game. If those monies went to the teams less only a small finder's fee, then it might be proper, but the finders fee is greater than 90% of the monies demanded. This is, in my estimation, Piracy.