In the same light that the aged generation have voted to leave the EU to snatch the future away from the younger generation, Bernie Ecclestone remains at the top of F1, stagnating the sport.
Bernie was a real visionary in developing the commercial side of Formula One throughout the 80’s and 90’s, his dictatorial drive suited a world in which real commercial globalization was a fresh thing. Corporate greed simply wasn’t on a planet that seemingly yielded endless resources.

But, despite Bernie’s reluctance – times change, the world moves on, and credit expires. Formula One currently has an image problem in that the top of the managerial pyramid continues to fail in recognizing the changing face of the audience, especially the younger fan base. In the commercial world beyond F1, consumers are caring more and more about where the products they purchase have been sourced. In other words, there is a demand for legitimate corporate responsibility! So what impression does a young motorsport fan get when they are barraged with F1’s endless, indecisive political rhetoric? Well, the young motorsport fan will find something else to watch in our digital age. Formula E? Drone racing?

Bernie can no longer get away with immersing himself in tasteless circles. Ecclestone had an excuse for saying nothing about the terrible human rights record of Azerbaijan on the premise that “F1 doesn’t get involved with politics.” Yet, in the presence of Vladimir Putin, he makes sweeping statements such as
“I’ve said before that I don’t much like democracy. Nothing gets done.”
For the sake of Formula One’s image, it’s time to kick out a man who pathetically attempts to channel an aura of notoriety, moving the spotlight onto himself at the cost of shadowing the sport. F1 does have a reputation crisis at the moment, and there’s a little grey haired wiglet blocking progress.
He ignores the fans and openly views the drivers as his inferiors. Formula One doesn’t need a boss or an owner, it needs a visionary. Let’s hope that his successor is a visionary, or even a fan of motorsport! The last thing Formula One needs is another stale business mogul trapped in a world that stopped existing two decades ago.
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