Ecclestone not in New York for F1 race talks

"Nothing planned"

Bernie Ecclestone has not travelled to New York this week to discuss a possible formula one race on Staten Island, it has emerged.

Explaining that the F1 chief executive had broken his earlier plans to attend the Melbourne season opener, race boss Ron Walker said Ecclestone had instead accepted the invitation of New York mayor Michael Bloomberg.

But a New York City Hall official told the Herald Sun that there is "Nothing planned" between the 80-year-old and Bloomberg.

And when asked about the plans for a Staten Island grand prix, a spokesman for Bloomberg answered: "We don’t have such a plan."

Indeed, Ecclestone has been giving interviews in the last 24 hours from his London office.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker admitted he was confused: "Everybody tells me he is meeting with (New York) city officials but I have no idea what’s in his diary at all.

"It’s none of my business,"

he insisted.

Revealingly, Walker said he was not disappointed Ecclestone had broken his plans to fly to Australia.

"He’s a task master you see. If you were to ask him the future of the race, he could just say ’none’. So these are reasons why I don’t want him here."

Ecclestone confirmed to Reuters the news about him skipping Australia, and when asked if Staten Island is a candidate for a future race, he answered: "No, absolutely 100 per cent."

Source: Nextgen-auto

Räikkönen not returning to F1 - Ecclestone

"No one really knows why Kimi left F1"

Bernie Ecclestone does not think F1’s world champion of 2007 is ever coming back to his sport.

After committing to a second full-time season in the world rally championship this year, Kimi Raikkonen said he has "no interest" in returning to F1.

"No one really knows why Kimi left F1, and many have tried to bring him back again," F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the German language Kicker magazine.

"But Kimi has decided to do something else - and that will remain the case," added the 80-year-old Briton.

Source: NextgenAuto

Ecclestone: F1 2010 still needs spicing up

'Don't be fooled' by Malaysia and Australia, says Bernie Ecclestone, as change is still needed to ensure there isn't more 'Bore-rains' in F1 2010.

Bernie Ecclestone has that said action is still needed in order to ensure F1 2010 remains entertaining – and he has warned that the sport got 'lucky' in Malaysia and Australia.

After the season opener in Bahrain there were calls to take drastic measures to liven proceedings up. Indeed it wasn't for nothing that the first race was dubbed 'Bore-rain'.

However since then the events in Australia and Malaysia have been a lot better, although Ecclestone is conscious that nothing has been fixed as yet. Indeed rain at the start in Melbourne ensured the event was a thriller, while at Sepang on Sunday theFerrari's of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa and the McLaren's of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button all started out of position after a chaotic qualifying session, which left both outfits red-faced, when they were caught out by the changeable conditions.

Speaking to British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, Ecclestone added though that the lack of overtaking is still a real problem.

"Don't be fooled," he said prior to Sunday's grand prix. "We have been lucky with the rain. We have got to do something. For the first time the teams have realised that they have to do something about it. We don't need reverse grids, we just need more overtaking.

"Force India's Adrian Sutil, who scored his first points of the season in Malaysia, after holding off Lewis Hamilton to take fifth, meanwhile added though that the new rules for F1 2010 still need to be given time.

"I am really happy with the new rules. It's a challenge in the race. There was lots of action on the circuit in the last two races. Of course the rain in the qualifying [at Sepang] made a little mix on the grid but I don't think we should be concerned for boring races really this year," he noted.

"It just needs a bit of time until every body settles in but I like the racing and I think it's really good."

Source: Crash.net

Ecclestone eyes New York GP, Briatore return

Bernie Ecclestone on Thursday said he is pushing to organise a Grand Prix on the streets of New York.

The F1 chief executive told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport that he hopes the race will be held for the first time in 2012
.
"I'm trying for 2012, opposite Manhattan in New Jersey with skyscrapers in the background," said the 79-year-old.

"Fifteen minutes from the centre of New York to the circuit. (It would be) a wonder."
The last US Grand Prix was held at Indianapolis in 2007.

Ecclestone also mentioned to the sports newspaper his friend and business partner Flavio Briatore, who recently ruled out returning to F1 despite overturning his FIA ban for involvement in the crash-gate scandal.

"I think he could take up a role in the promotion of Formula One," said the Briton.

Source: Motorsport

In conversation - Bernie Ecclestone & Lewis Hamilton

Reams have been written about both Formula One Group CEO Bernie Ecclestone and 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, usually separately. Interviewed together for the first time at the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, the duo set out to make joint headlines, as they discussed the return of Michael Schumacher, the three new teams joining the grid this year, and each other…

Q: For a 41 year-old the performance of Michael Schumacher wasn’t too bad…
Bernie Ecclestone: It has nothing to do with age. I’m already 79, so be careful what you’re saying!
Lewis Hamilton: Obviously some people don’t age. Like Bernie and Michael. Don’t forget, he’s still a seven-time world champion, even if he wasn’t at the very top in Bahrain. Though I’m sure that it did not go unnoticed that Nico (Rosberg) was faster than him all weekend.

Q: And what do you draw from that?
LH: That Nico was the faster one. You could see that most clearly in qualifying, where there are no differences in fuel load and it is all about pure speed. Nico was clearly faster.

Q: Did you expect that would be the case?
LH: You can never bank on anything, but Nico is a very fast guy. I already knew that from the days when we were racing karts. We really fought it out on the track.
BE: How much was Michael slower than Nico? Three-tenths?
LH: That’s nothing.BE: That’s what I’m saying, because a lap in Bahrain is pretty long.

Q: How big was the gap between you and your new team mate Jenson Button?
LH: Four-tenths.

Q: Lewis, how important is it for you to be faster than Jenson?
LH: It doesn’t make a difference for me. I want to win and that means that I have to beat my team mate. But I knew that Jenson would be fast. He’s a great driver.

Q: How many phone calls from prospective managers did you get after you announced that your father is to concentrate on his own business affairs?
LH: Bernie, may I tell them about your call?
BE: Sure. I tried to call him saying that I was in search of a job, but he didn’t pick up the phone.
LH: When I checked my voicemail, there he was - Bernie telling me that he was looking for a job!

Q: And what was your reply?
LH: That I will eventually call back…
BE: So obviously I wasn’t good enough!
LH: Honestly, I have received a lot of applications but I’m not in a hurry to decide. I am with a fantastic team, with many competent people, so at the moment I have no need for a manager.
BE: A driver doesn’t need a manager. Gerhard Berger is the prime example of that. He managed himself and was making more money than anybody else at the time he was racing. I am sure he made better deals for himself than he would have done with a manager at his side.
LH: Well, it’s good to know that at the moment I’m not in any contractual negotiations.

Q: Bernie, if you compare Lewis and Michael, what’s your conclusion?
BE: Michael’s comeback is fantastic for Formula One. But Lewis’s first season in Formula One - the year after Michael retired - was equally fantastic. What he delivered in his rookie year and the spectacular battles with Fernando Alonso made fans forget about the void left by Schumacher.
LH: Thanks for the compliment.

Q: Lewis, how satisfied are you with the first race weekend of the season?
LH: Well, after the February tests I hadn’t expected to be that far behind the Red Bulls and Ferraris, but we will fight to bridge the gap.

Q: Your former team boss Ron Dennis was in Bahrain. Is his presence a support?
LH: In terms of the racing it doesn’t make any difference, but I am always happy when he’s present, because I have a very close relationship with him. I admire what he has achieved in his career and what he has done for the team. Without him I wouldn’t be here.
BE: I think that he should attend more races too. He belongs in Formula One.

Q: Bernie, have you ever seen a better driver line-up than this season’s?
BE: Do you mean at McLaren or Mercedes? Honestly, I cannot remember having ever seen a better line-up than this year’s. Eight drivers eligible to win the championship. It definitely won’t boil down to a two-horse race.

Q: If you were still a team principal, which drivers would you sign?
BE: Probably the cheapest.

Q: So you wouldn’t sign Lewis?
LH: I don’t believe Bernie.
BE: Well, Lewis and Sebastian (Vettel) wouldn’t be too bad, if I negotiated cleverly enough.

Q: Before the season started you said that Hamilton and Vettel would fight it out for the title. Do you still stand by that prediction?
BE: After one race you cannot say who will win - except that it probably will not be Virgin.
LH: Never say never!
BE: In this case I can. I don’t think that the new teams will raise their performance significantly over the season.
LH: Well, I also have to admit that the gap between the new teams and the established ones is
quite significant. But on the other hand, it’s good to see new teams enter Formula One. It’s good for our sport.

Q: Lewis, is here anything you have always wanted to know from Bernie but were too afraid to ask?
LH: No. I can always turn to Bernie if I need advice. He has always made compliments and has always supported me, so why should I be afraid? I admire what he has achieved. Formula One is the best sport in the world.

Source: Formula1.com