- 08 Jun 09, 16:41#124558
MIXED FEELINGS FOR ECCLESTONE
http://www.express.co.uk/motorsport/vie ... Ecclestone
Express reporter Bob McKenzie is treated to the F1 at Bernie's place
Monday June 8,2009
By Bob McKenzie EXCLUSIVE
SITTING in his lavish Knightsbridge home watching a 60-inch TV as Brit Jenson Button weaves victoriously over the finish line in Turkey, Bernie Ecclestone turns to me and asks: “What is going on, why is he slowing down?”
This, I explain to Formula One powerbroker Ecclestone, is the end of the race. Soon, Button will get out of the car,
climb some steps to a place called the podium and spray champagne.
“It’s his Mum’s,” said Ecclestone, looking at the sponsor’s name. “Nice of her to give her son champagne.”
All this is a joke based on Ecclestone’s long tradition of being at 35,000 feet in his private jet heading to London
before any race is finished.
“We once had a one-two at Watkins Glen in 1974 when I owned Brabham and I was in a chopper before the race
finished,” he said.
“I go on the grid, watch the start and get out. My job is done. I’m better off in the offi ce first thing Monday, to
see how we can improve things and make more money. The teams like that.”
Ecclestone’s time was precious even before he became a billionaire, so a personal invitation to join him for lunch to watch yesterday’s Turkish Grand Prix at his London home is priceless.
A kidney infection kept him away from Istanbul, where he is promoter and circuit leaseholder, allowing him to
watch Button slaughter the best again from a range of 1,500 miles.
“Very, very good result in one way,” said Ecclestone with a sigh, as Button joins only Michael Schumacher and Jim Clark with six wins from the first seven races. “But very, very bad in another.
“I have mixed feelings; it is obviously super for him but it is not great for the spectacle, the championship. You like to see superstars doing the job like this but I wish there was a bit more of a challenge. Might come yet."
Ecclestone is a big fan of the young German driver Sebastian Vettel. As we walk from his house to his daughter Petra's nearby apartment just before the race, he talks of how Red Bull driver Vettel's pole position could be crucial.
“I should maybe have moved the race back half an hour so we could have lunch a bit later,” said Ecclestone. He is joking – I think.
The roast chicken is not delayed too long.
Barely 40 seconds into the race, Vettel makes a mistake under pressure exiting turn nine, runs wide and Button
is on him like Ecclestone spotting a deal.
“The race is over,” said Ecclestone with a groan. “They had to keep him behind. You won’t see him for dust.”
That forecast is spot on.
Button’s Brawn GP car, as the champion-in-waiting says later, is as close to perfection as Lewis Hamilton's McLaren is to obsolescence.
“Fantastic reliability, these cars. In the old days, it would be more mixed because only about six or seven would finish,” said Ecclestone.
Oddly this time, one of the missing is a Brawn, as Rubens Barrichello suffers his team’s first mechanical issue of the season.
“Nice to see Mark Webber up there. People tend to overlook him a bit too much," said Ecclestone, sipping a beer as the finish list shows Webber second and ahead of team-mate Vettel.
The Ferrari revival is limited, with Felipe Massa seventh and Kimi Raikkonen ninth.
“Massa is a super bloke, unlucky, could so easily have been champion,” added the man who has run F1 since the Seventies.
“Raikkonen? Not sure. If he didn’t have a contract for next year, I’m not sure Ferrari would retain him.
Right now, Fernando Alonso, Lewis, Vettel and Jenson are best .”
As the camera follows the cars around the track, his promoter’s eye is critical.
“Look, I think I saw half a dozen spectators. They probably climbed the fence.
“I need to speak to the Turkish Prime Minister soon and see what the future of the circuit is. They just don’t promote the race.”
He is disappointed and said: “They have a huge catchment area of East European and Middle East countries . “I went round five sites in a helicopter and picked this.
"The layout is brilliant, hills adding drama as the cars suddenly appear . They just don’t promote it. Maybe they
ould move the whole thing to Britain.”
With the final Silverstone race just two weeks away, Ecclestone added: “I hope Jenson wins there too. Would be nice for him – and the country.” But that soft heart stops there as he confirms it will be the last at Silverstone.
“It’s Donington or nothing. And, if they are not ready in 2010 then we’ll have a gap year – no British race and hope it’s ready for 2011,” he said.
Forumula One: The World's Greatest Sport
At least he has his priorities right 
- By darwin dali