Under New Management - A 3 -Card Trick?

Lease

There is an old joke that goes like: Why do Jews like prostitution? The answer being: Ya got it; ya sell it; ya still got it!

So I'm reading about how Bernie has sold FOM to Liberty. There's stuff there that Bernie and whoever is running Ferrari this week are not getting on with the new guy. They call him Darth Vader; I like that. And that they are not happy with the new management.

And it crossed my mind you see, that there was this thing called the FISA/FOCA wars of the late seventies that resulted effectively in turning Bernie into............well, whatever it is he is today. Then there was the GPWC incident of 'very stern sabre rattling' of 2008. Each time, the deck chairs were moved to a nicer spot to catch the breeze and the great ocean liner of Formula One steamed on.

Now on the face of things, Bernie is old and tired and has sold out to live the rest of his life gazing levelly and lovingly at the impeccable navels of his wives. Perhaps.

But this is a guy who has had a lifetime of doing deals. I reckon he might be addicted. Guys like him don't just fade away. Mind you - and in very obscure parenthesis - one of his historical parallels; Luscious Cornelius Sulla, did just that. Retiring to an island to mess around with various young boys & girls, and copious quantities of wine, whilst the repercussions of his 'lex everythings' and proscriptions changed the very fabric of ancient Rome and left a good spot for a talented nephew in law of his erstwhile friend Marius, and then his very talented nephew to establish a completely new order.

However;

Is it....possible.....that Bernie is setting things up for a new NEW Formula One. Now one could happily argue that the commercial rights to Formula One are granted by the FIA, and that the whole thing is tied up. And so it is. That only has value though, as long as what is now called Formula One remains pre-eminent in the minds of the punters. At the end of the day, the FIA will recognise any new series that is properly constructed. If for example, the major constructors were to agree to; oh let's say a new series run by Bernie that gave them a much, much better share of the loot, and they then cast their minds back to how easy it was to set up the GPWC, what would happen, eh? A simple thing to call it Formula Millenium, or whatever, and then wait for the sanctioned Formula One to whither and die, and then pay a pittance for the rights to the name.

What a way that would be for the old boy to go out?

forzaminardi

Think of Bernie what you want but nobody's been able to keep a vast array of egos better in line for some many decades than he did. Just think of all the kerfuffle in the Stoddart years. I don't credit him much for exchanging Hockenheim and Imola for races in places where nobody gives a hoot but he certainly didn't let things get dusty. I wonder how long Liberty stay on. Obviously they seem to be a much more stable company than EM.TV (now who remembers that saga?) but how much does cable television have in common with F1?

forzaminardi

Btw I'm pretty sure Bernie must have signed some none competition clause. Too obvious, right?