Bernie Ecclestone is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport.
51 Facts About Bernie Ecclestone
2.
Bernie Ecclestone began his career as a racing driver for Connaught, and entered two Grand Prix races during the 1958 season, but failed to qualify for either of them.
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On 23 January 2017, it was announced that Bernie Ecclestone had been replaced by Chase Carey as chief executive of the Formula One Group.
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Bernie Ecclestone was appointed as chairman emeritus and acted as an adviser to the board.
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Bernie Ecclestone is one of the richest men in the United Kingdom.
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Bernie Ecclestone was born in St Peter, South Elmham on 28 October 1930, a hamlet three miles south of Bungay.
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Bernie Ecclestone was the son of Sidney Ecclestone, a fisherman, whose family had moved from Kent in the early 20th century to work in Norwich's painting industry, and his wife Bertha Sophia Westley.
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Bernie Ecclestone attended primary school in Wissett in Suffolk before the family moved to Danson Road, Bexleyheath, southeast London, in 1938.
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Bernie Ecclestone was not evacuated to the countryside during the Second World War and remained with his family.
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Bernie Ecclestone left Dartford West Central Secondary School at the age of 16 to work as an assistant in the chemical laboratory at the local gasworks testing gas purity.
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Bernie Ecclestone studied chemistry at Woolwich Polytechnic and pursued his hobby of motorcycles.
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Bernie Ecclestone's first racing experience came in 1949 in the 500cc Formula 3 Series, acquiring a Cooper Mk V in 1951.
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Bernie Ecclestone drove only a limited number of races, mainly at his local circuit, Brands Hatch, but achieved a number of good placings and an occasional win.
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Bernie Ecclestone initially retired from racing following several accidents at Brands Hatch, intending to focus on his business interests.
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Bernie Ecclestone returned to racing in 1957 as manager of driver Stuart Lewis-Evans, and purchased two chassis from the disbanded Connaught Formula One team.
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Bernie Ecclestone even tried, unsuccessfully, to qualify a car himself at Monaco in 1958, although this has since been described as "not a serious attempt".
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Bernie Ecclestone entered the British Grand Prix, but the car was raced by Jack Fairman.
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Bernie Ecclestone continued to manage Lewis-Evans when he moved to the Vanwall team; Salvadori moved on to manage the Cooper team.
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The 1976 and 1977 seasons saw Brabham fall towards the back of the field again, before winning two races again in the 1978 season when Bernie Ecclestone signed the Austrian double world champion Niki Lauda, intrigued by Murray's radical BT46 design.
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Bernie Ecclestone was unhappy with the money that Ecclestone was willing to offer him and went to Williams where he would win his third championship.
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In parallel to his activities as team owner, Bernie Ecclestone formed the Formula One Constructors Association in 1974 with Frank Williams, Colin Chapman, Teddy Mayer, Ken Tyrrell, and Max Mosley.
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Bernie Ecclestone became increasingly involved with his roles at FISA and the FOCA in the 1970s, in particular with negotiating the sport's television rights, in his decades-long advocacy for team control.
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Bernie Ecclestone became chief executive of FOCA in 1978 with Mosley as his legal adviser; together, they negotiated a series of legal issues with the FIA and Jean-Marie Balestre, culminating in Bernie Ecclestone's famous coup, his securing the right for FOCA to negotiate television contracts for the Grands Prix.
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Also in 1978, Bernie Ecclestone hired Sid Watkins as official Formula One medical doctor.
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Bernie Ecclestone had used a walkie-talkie to ask Sid Watkins - who was at the crash scene - about Senna's condition.
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Bernie Ecclestone came under fire in October 2004 when he and British Racing Drivers' Club president Jackie Stewart were unable to come to terms regarding the future British Grand Prix, causing the race to be dropped from the 2005 provisional season calendar.
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Bernie Ecclestone stated his intention to appeal against the decision.
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Bernie Ecclestone saw 14 of 20 cars pull out of the 2005 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Bernie Ecclestone used the proceeds of this sale to purchase a stake in this new company.
30.
On 21 July 2007, Bernie Ecclestone announced in the media that he would be open to discussing the purchase of Arsenal Football Club.
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Bernie Ecclestone was removed from his position as chief executive of Formula One Group on 23 January 2017, following its takeover by Liberty Media in 2016.
32.
On 7 January 2010, it was announced that Bernie Ecclestone had, together with Genii Capital, submitted a bid for Swedish car brand Saab Automobile.
33.
In 1997, Bernie Ecclestone was involved in a political controversy over the British Labour Party's policy on tobacco sponsorship.
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Bernie Ecclestone appealed 'over Jowell's head' to Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's chief of staff, who arranged a meeting with Blair.
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In closing arguments at a Munich trial the public prosecutor told the court Bernie Ecclestone "hasn't been blackmailed, he is a co-perpetrator in a bribery case".
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Bernie Ecclestone told prosecutors he paid Gribkowsky because he blackmailed him with telling UK tax authorities about a family trust controlled by Bernie Ecclestone's former wife.
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In July 2013, German prosecutors indicted Bernie Ecclestone for alleged bribery.
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Bernie Ecclestone was arrested by Brazilian authorities on 25 May 2022 for illegally carrying a firearm while boarding a private plane to Switzerland.
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Bernie Ecclestone acknowledged owning the gun, but said he was unaware it was in his luggage at the time.
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Bernie Ecclestone subsequently paid bail and was freed to travel to Switzerland.
41.
On 30 June 2022 Bernie Ecclestone appeared on an interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain.
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Bernie Ecclestone then went on to mention that he believed President Zelenskyy could have prevented the invasion of Ukraine.
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GMB's other co-host Ben Shephard asked about the death of innocent Ukrainian citizens, to which Bernie Ecclestone said it was not "intentional" and gave examples of American invasions into other countries.
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Bernie Ecclestone suggested that he would not have removed the Russian Grand Prix or banned Russian drivers had he been a part of the decision-making process.
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In 2011, Faber and Faber published Tom Bower's biography No Angel: The Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone, which was written with Ecclestone's co-operation.
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At Grand Prix venues, Ecclestone used a grey mobile home, known as "Bernie's bus", as his headquarters.
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Bernie Ecclestone turned down a knighthood in the early 2000s as he did not believe that he deserved it.
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Bernie Ecclestone had a 17-year relationship with Tuana Tan, which ended in 1984 when Slavica Radic, later his second wife, became pregnant.
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Bernie Ecclestone was then married to Yugoslav-born former Armani model Radic for 23 years.
50.
Bernie Ecclestone announced the birth of Alexander Charles Bernie Ecclestone on 1 July 2020.
51.
Bernie Ecclestone was a victim of theft in March 2005: two wheels were stolen from his car while it was parked outside his London home.