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Bernie&Ecclestone’s&Formula&for&Formula&One&
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Formula!One!motor!racing!!(F1)!is!big!business.!!From!the!first!Grand!Prix!in!1906!it!was!able!to!
generate!excitement!among!fans!and!media.!!But!it!is!only!since!its!reinvention!in!the!1980s!that! the!sport!has!been!able!to!generate!a!commensurate!level!of!excitement!among!business! observers.!!!
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F1!is!one!of!the!worlds!most!popular!–!and!profitable!–!sports.!!It!thrills!a!television!audience!of! over!500!million!fans!per!year!who!watch!its!20!twenty!races,!held!in!19!countries;!a!single!race! can!draw!an!audience!of!over!350m.i!!Racing!enthusiasts!in!Europe!and!the!Middle!East,!across!
Japan,!South!America!and!China,!eagerly!tune!in!to!see!drivers!race!the!serpentine!turns!of!Grand!
Prix!courses!in!the!fastest,!most!technically!advanced!cars!in!the!world,!whose!performance!is! continually!modified!and!extended!according!to!rigid!guidelines!–!the!“formula”!in!Formula!One.!! !
F1’s!success!is!in!large!part!due!to!the!efforts!of!one!man:!Bernie!Ecclestone,!a!former!used!
motorcycle!salesman!with!the!business!acumen,!guts,!and!entrepreneurial!spirit!to!harness!the! potential!of!what!once!was!a!dysfunctional!sport!and!create!an!empire.!!! !
But!the!teams,!promoters,!sponsors,!car!constructors,!track!owners!and!other!players!that!make!
up!this!byzantine!business!have!deeply!mixed!feelings!about!Ecclestone!position!in!the! ecosystem.!!!!For!while!everyone!participates!to!help!F1!bring!in!the!big!money!–!the!sport’s! direct!total!revenue!was!over!$1.5!billion!in!2011,iii!and!indirect!revenues!a!multiple!of!that!–! profits!!trickle!down!unevenly.! !
!"It!can't!be!that!the!main!players!have!lost!control!over!Formula!One,"!said!Ferrari!CEO!Luca!di!
Montezemolo,!"and!that!a!single!person,!Ecclestone,!collects!the!lion's!share!of!revenues!while!we! are!fobbed!off!with!peanuts.iv"!!! !
‘It!can’t!be…’!!But!it!is.!
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