Austin Needs to Check With Indy Before Dealing With F1, & Bernie Ecclestone

The city of Austin is trying desperately to secure state funds to help lure an F1 race to town. Sure, interest in auto racing nation-wide continues to dip, and Americans have never shown much of an interest in F1 for various reasons, but give it a shot. 

This report in the Austin-American Statesman says an F1 race could be lucrative ... or not. Depends on what projection you believe.

But everyone involved in this process must wait. Wait until until F1 Chief Thief Bernie Ecclestone is either out of power, or dead. This guy would not only take a lollipop from a baby, but his wallet, too. Maybe this how you get ahead and stay ahead these days.

Austin need look no further than Indianapolis to see that dealing with this guy, and this series, is not like operating with an owner of some pro sports team here in the states. The culture around this series is dramatically different than anything here in America. They want your money and you to buy tickets, but how they define "fan friendly" is dramatically different than what is done here. A primary reason is Ecclestone.

Former Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George spent millions and millions of his own dollars to renovate that speedway in an effort to lure this series to the U.S. He did, and paid Ecclestone the massive $20 million rights fee. The race lasted from 2000 to 2007 before George threw up his hands and said it's not worth the headache. Say what you want about Tony George, but the man was OK losing a lot of his money to promote his track and auto racing. Ecclestone is accustomed to having it done his way, so the power brokers in Austin who want this race best be prepared to pay this guy a small fortune, and to wait on him hand and foot.

I have serious doubts whether F1 racing will ever succeed in the U.S. Maybe the timing is right now, and Austin with its "in crowd" is a better locale than Central Indiana. But this series has no chance in the U.S. if Ecclestone is running it.

Austin, just wait until he's gone.

@MacEngelProf
tengel@star-telegram.com
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Comments

[Joe]

Bernie Ecclestone is a crook of the royal order. F-1 could be great in Texas but Eccestone needs to be dead before Texas rolls out the red carpet for this guy. He has a massive record of being a POS.

Yes! to F-1
No! to Bernie Ecclestone

[Tammy G]

This History of Bernie Ecclestone was etched in stone in 2005 in Indinapolis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_United_States_Grand_Prix

I'm a huge car racing fan, but Bernie Ecclestone is a crook

Love to see F1 in Texas but until Ecclestone gets a brain, forget it

[Tony]

Get F1 to Austin!!!!!!!! Love it! Who cares about all the politics! Make it happen!

[Burt Lungeano]

how short is Bernie??!? wow?!?!?

[Andrew Sterling]

Ecclestone is a scum. F1 deserves better. Love to see F1 come to Austin, but leave Ecclestone at home

[David Jay]

Eccelstone is stupid, short, and greedy. Who cares if F1 comes or not.

[Dave]

F1 in Houston sounds great! I'm a huge car fan and F1 is a totally different crowd, type of racing, and so on. If you haven't seen it, you need to. BuT if it takes NOT getting F1 to keep Eccelstone out of this city/state/country/continent... so be it. Eccelstone is notoriously greedy and stupid. The incident in 2005 in indiapolis is ONLY one example of his stupidity. F1 would be a thousand times better if Eccelstone was not a part of it.