REPORTERS – 25/12/2016 – Year in Review – Part One
February – Berine Ecclestone has been at the centre as ringmaster since the 1970’s with him now in his late 80’s how is the sport preparing for his departure and crisis in the sport
Life after Berine
The Telegraph newspaper say the understand that board of directors will be told to prepare for life after Bernie Ecclestone in a landmark report on the crisis-ridden sport presented on Tuesday.
They say the board of the parent company Delta Topca was shown a dossier about the current state of F1. The newspaper says the report written by Jean-Marc Huet will address the sport’s stalling profitability, worrying lack of sponsorship revenue as well as key personnel, including succession planning after Ecclestone.
Ecclestone was criticised last week after saying he would not spend his own money on watching Formula One because it was the worst it has ever been. Donald Mackenzine is a huge admirer of the 84 year old however he threatened to sack him if he was convicted of bribery and corruption in 2014.
After the case Mackenzie wanted to bring in Paul Walsh, the former boss of Diageo to help run the sport but was blocked by Ecclestone.
But Ecclestone said last night “At the last board meeting we said somebody should have a look, and see if we’re doing things right, and if we want to make some changes.”
February – Could drivers be putting their health at risk to keep their weight low and how much are they being told to lose?
Risking their health – Sainz
Carlos Sainz has warned that some heavier drivers like Daniel Ricciardo could be risking their health by losing weight because cars are heavier.
He Said “ow do you tell a driver to perform at his highest level while taking into account that he needs to lose three or four kilos?. It’s one thing against the other. You turn up to a test wanting to be as strong as possible but you cannot be as strong as possible because of weight (loss).”
Three drivers told Reuters they needed to lose weight before the opening race in Australia on March 20.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo has shed three kilos, and says more must go, while Renault’s Kevin Magnussen and Sainz’s 18-year-old team mate Max Verstappen have been told to lose a few.
Every team aims to have the lightest car and driver combination, with ballast used to bring it up to the minimum weight. This can be moved around, improving performance.
He added “I heard really drastic things from Jean-Eric Vergne, what he had to do. It’s not safe and not the right way to go. We like to be fit and thin, that’s our job, but it’s not our job to be extremely skinny.”
March – He has disappeared because of a accident in December 2013. But why did he want to disappear anyway?
Desire to disappear – Kelm
The manager of Michael Schumacher says the seven times world champion had the desire to disappear from the public eye before his skiing accident.
In December 2014 the legend hit his head on a rock while skiing in the Alps between Christmas and New Year leaving him in a coma. He has returned home where he continues to be looked after. Speaking at the weekend Sabine Kelm said “In general the media have never reported on Michael and Corinna’s private live.”
“When he was in Switzerland, for example, it was clear he was a private individual. Once in a long discussion Michael said to me, ‘You don’t need to call me for the next year, I’m disappearing.’
Speaking about the tough media black out she issued no apology for the little details about his condition. She said “I understand it needs o be reported and that people are interested. But I believe as a journalist you should also ask yourself what and how you report.”
April – Berine Ecclestone has thought out his life been against woman drivers but despite repeating again and again has he done a U-turn backing woman drivers?
U-turn on woman drivers – Ecclestone
Berine Ecclestone has vowed to support the Dare To Be Different program in any way he can to get woman in to formula One. The Formula One boss said earlier this week woman racing in F1 “would not be taken seriously”, while also suggesting they would be physically unable to drive quickly.
Susie Wolff the founder of the campaign has told the BBC World Service that his comments were taken out of context, and he is determined to assist wherever possible.
Something he back up in an interview with Autosport “Whatever she wants to do we will try and support it. Let me be clear, I would love to see a woman driver in Formula 1. Absolutely. 100 per cent.”
“I was asked on stage by Martin Sorrell [the interviewer at the forum] ‘If by chance there was a sponsor out there that wanted to put 100 million into a team, providing it had two women drivers, what would you say to that? I said ‘I’d be very happy and I’d give another 20 million to make it happen’”
He said the media in recent years have overlooked his change in views in recent years. But he appeared to say he thinks they shouldn’t just be there because of their gender.
May – Michael Schumacher and Valentinio Rossi are two of the most successful men in motorsport with seven times in the top class of their sports can Lewis Hamilton achieve the same feat?
Luxury of equalling Schumacher and Rossi
Lewis Hamilton says he hopes he has the luxury of Seven times Moto GP class champion Valentinio Rossi and Michael Schumacher admits he has put a time frame on how long he plans to stick around in Formula 1.
Rossi is one of the most experienced rider in the sport and now towards the end of his career hasn’t shown a dip in for after winning the Spanish Grand Prix at the weekend. Hamilton has talked about how he wants to find himself in a similarly peak position for years to come.
Speaking ahead of the race Hamilton told Motorsport.com “Valentino is towards one of the older riders now, but he still has the ability to be at the top. He still has the ability to do so, and so I hope that I am in the similar position towards the end of my career.”
Hamilton says he thinks he will be in the sport until the early part of the 2020’s. He was asked if he ever thinks about retirement, he said: “I do. Generally when I think about it, I have this three-year contract. I am hoping that I have another three or four years after that.”
He appeared to hint that he wouldn’t be inclined to quit after winning a title and thinks “ it is a very hard thing to do and I am yet to know that I have the maturity and strength to walk away from something that I loved since five years old. Only time will tell.”
That’s all from this special edition of Reporters, from the team we wish you a very Happy Christmas and Part Two next Sunday at the same time!
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