1. Widely known in journalism as the "F1 Supremo", Bernie Ecclestone founded the Formula One Group in 1987, controlling the commercial rights to Formula One until 2017.
56 Facts About Bernie Ecclestone
1. 2.
Bernie Ecclestone started racing in Formula Three in 1949, winning multiple races at Brands Hatch driving a Cooper Mk V After purchasing two Connaught chassis in 1958, Ecclestone entered the Monaco and British Grands Prix in Formula One as a privateer, but did not qualify at either.
3.
Bernie Ecclestone then became a driver manager for Stuart Lewis-Evans and Jochen Rindt, the latter winning the World Drivers' Championship posthumously in 1970.
4.
Bernie Ecclestone founded International Sportsworld Communicators in 1996, controlling the commercial rights to the World Rally Championship until 2000.
5.
Bernie Ecclestone placed fifth on the Sunday Times Rich List in 2002, and declined both a CBE and a knighthood from Elizabeth II.
6.
Bernie Ecclestone co-owned association football club Queens Park Rangers with Flavio Briatore from 2007 to 2011, overseeing their promotion to the Premier League.
7.
Bernie Ecclestone sold the Formula One Group to Liberty Media in 2017, subsequently being appointed as chairman emeritus and adviser to the board of directors until his departure in 2020.
8.
Over his four-decade career as an executive in Formula One, Bernie Ecclestone was involved in several controversies.
9.
Bernie Ecclestone was born on 28 October 1930 in St Peter South Elmham, a hamlet three miles south of Bungay.
10.
Bernie Ecclestone was the son of Sidney Ecclestone, a fisherman, whose family was originally from Kent, and his wife Bertha Sophia.
11.
Bernie Ecclestone attended primary school in Wissett in Suffolk before the family moved to Danson Road, Bexleyheath, southeast London, in 1938.
12.
Bernie Ecclestone was not evacuated to the countryside during the Second World War and remained with his family.
13.
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.
14.
Bernie Ecclestone studied chemistry at Woolwich Polytechnic and pursued his hobby of motorcycles.
15.
Bernie Ecclestone's first racing experience came in 1949 in the 500cc Formula 3 Series, acquiring a Cooper Mk V in 1951.
16.
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.
17.
Bernie Ecclestone initially retired from racing following several accidents at Brands Hatch, intending to focus on his business interests.
18.
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.
19.
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".
20.
Bernie Ecclestone entered the British Grand Prix, but the car was raced by Jack Fairman.
21.
Bernie Ecclestone continued to manage Lewis-Evans when he moved to the Vanwall team; Roy Salvadori moved on to manage the Cooper team.
22.
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.
23.
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.
24.
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.
25.
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.
26.
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.
27.
Also in 1978, Bernie Ecclestone hired Sid Watkins as official Formula One medical doctor.
28.
Bernie Ecclestone had used a walkie-talkie to ask Sid Watkins - who was at the crash scene - about Senna's condition.
29.
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.
30.
Bernie Ecclestone stated his intention to appeal against the decision.
31.
Bernie Ecclestone saw 14 of 20 cars pull out of the 2005 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
32.
Bernie Ecclestone used the proceeds of this sale to purchase a stake in this new company.
33.
On 21 July 2007, Bernie Ecclestone announced in the media that he would be open to discussing the purchase of Arsenal Football Club.
34.
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.
35.
Bernie Ecclestone was appointed the honorary role of chairman emeritus and adviser to the board of directors, until his term expired in January 2020.
36.
On 7 January 2010, it was announced that Bernie Ecclestone had, together with Genii Capital, submitted a bid for Swedish car brand Saab Automobile.
37.
Bernie Ecclestone's collection was noted for its historical value, with unique pieces such as the Ferrari 375 F1, Ferrari 312 F1, Ferrari 246 F1, Brabham BT46B, and Maserati 250F.
38.
For many years Bernie Ecclestone was rumoured to have been involved in the Great Train Robbery.
39.
In 1997, Bernie Ecclestone was involved in a political controversy over the British Labour Party's policy on tobacco sponsorship.
40.
Bernie Ecclestone appealed 'over Jowell's head' to Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair's chief of staff, who arranged a meeting with Blair.
41.
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".
42.
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.
43.
In July 2013, German prosecutors indicted Bernie Ecclestone for alleged bribery.
44.
Bernie Ecclestone was arrested by Brazilian authorities on 25 May 2022 for illegally carrying a firearm while boarding a private plane to Switzerland.
45.
Bernie Ecclestone acknowledged owning the gun, but said he was unaware it was in his luggage at the time.
46.
Bernie Ecclestone subsequently paid bail and was freed to travel to Switzerland.
47.
On 30 June 2022 Bernie Ecclestone appeared on an interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain.
48.
Bernie Ecclestone then went on to mention that he believed President Zelenskyy could have prevented the invasion of Ukraine.
49.
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.
50.
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.
51.
Bernie Ecclestone was sentenced to 17 months in prison, suspended for two years.
52.
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.
53.
At Grand Prix venues, Ecclestone used a grey mobile home, known as "Bernie's bus", as his headquarters.
54.
Bernie Ecclestone turned down a CBE in 1996, and later turned down a knighthood in the early 2000s as he did not believe that he deserved it.
55.
Bernie Ecclestone had a 17-year relationship with Tuana Tan, which ended in 1984 when Slavica Radic, later his second wife, became pregnant.
56.
Bernie Ecclestone was then married to Yugoslav-born former Armani model Radic for 23 years.