ATX PostThe Formula 1 deadline is set, the clock is ticking: Bernie Ecclestone runs the show
The clock is ticking…
On Monday, Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone drew a line in the sand and asked Circuit of the Americas (COTA) co-founder Bobby Epstein to cross it.
Ecclestone set a deadline: Wednesday, November 30th. If there’s no contract signed by then and no money in the bank, there will be no Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin—certainly not next year, probably not ever.
By now, Ecclestone’s patience is worn thin and out. In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with Autoweek magazine, he called out Epstein and he made it clear who is the boss of F1.
“I’ve spent more time with these people [COTA] and these races in the States than [I've had to spend with] anybody else [running a Grand Prix]. India’s come and gone, and other places have come and gone, and we’re still messing around.
This is what these people [COTA] don’t understand. They’re sitting there on their own, thinking about their race, buying something that they can’t afford, thinking the world is going to change for them. Which it isn’t.”
Ideas that were bandied about weeks ago are now crystal clear. Epstein and his partners bungled a power play that might have sounded good over a cigar and scotch at the club but arrogantly ignored where the real power of the deal lies—with Ecclestone, and his close family friend Tavo Hellmund.
Hellmund got the F1 contract, a sweet deal according to Ecclestone, and most certainly a better deal than he is offering to COTA now. Hellmund brought { ...to continue reading this article: Article source: }
Article source: http://austin.culturemap.com/newsdetail/11-29-11-17-44-the-formula-1-deadline-is-set-the-clock-is-ticking-bernie-ecclestone-runs-the-show-1/