In a newly launched ‘Beyond Victory’ podcast by 2016 Formula 1 champion Nico Rosberg, former F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone discusses about his life, his style and the current happenings in the sport.
Ecclestone starts the podcast talking about building the sport to what it is now adding that he did things not for money but to do the best job he can, entrusted to him by his bosses. The money came as a by-product which kept everyone happy.
Following from his days of being a car seller, he loved negotiating and breaking deals. He said the success he had was all because of being at the right place at the right time and banking on every opportunity he was presented to be even more successful.
He believes he was fortunate to stay at the helm in F1 for so long. He then discusses the work-life balance which is a common topic in general. Personally, he doesn’t fear anything but had some hairy moments when he was prosecuted in Germany.
He regards Donald Trump highly as he felt the American has achieved a lot and does things with instinct. On the F1 side, he reveals of how he tried to find finer details in negotiations citing an example of the Concorde agreement meet with Max Mosley.
Speaking of the current scenario, Ecclestone believes the less overtaking queries is nonsense as the sport always had such times. He wants things to be simplified where the drivers play the important role when put in the car.
With the manufacturer influence now, he feels the dictatorship should come into play where the manufacturers should be given the rules rather than be allowed to make them. He said a standard engine cannot be done and neither a cost cap will ever work.
On the topic of electric, while he didn’t say it will happen but it could happen that F1 goes electric – although a lot of things has to fall in place for it happen especially if the whole world takes that route and the current formula becomes irrelevant.
He didn’t think that Formula E could do anything if F1 decides the electric way. On the all-electric championship though, he felt it needs to be done right as it is failing to catch on the market especially in terms of broadcast.
More on the driver side, he was surprised along with Christian Horner that Daniel Ricciardo decided to move away from Red Bull Racing but understood why he would do it. The Max Verstappen factor may have played a role as per him.
He added that neither Lewis Hamilton nor Sebastian Vettel will like to have Verstappen beside them in Mercedes or Ferrari. On Fernando Alonso, he has the same feeling as most of the paddock.
As a pure driver, the talent is supreme but his decision making held him back. He didn’t think Alonso destroyed any team per say though. Ecclestone added that Alonso reminded him a bit of Sir Stirling Moss who couldn’t achieve as much he could have.
For the 2018 title, Ecclestone thinks Vettel could take it as Ferrari has the superior car even though both Vettel and Hamilton are on the same level. The one thing which could hold off Ferrari is the idea of losing – which the team has gotten used to more in recent times.
On Rosberg himself, the 87-year-old felt it was the right decision to retire when he did as he ended the podcast talking about his cars collection.
Hear the podcast.