Bernie Ecclestone: Formula One’s Entrepreneurial Ringmaster

Abstract

Stuart provides a critical review of Bernie Ecclestone’s pivotal role in the sixty-year development of Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, from an indulgent pastime for a privileged elite to a global spectacle attracting significant broadcasting and sponsorship revenues, and an audience in the hundreds of millions. The chapter identifies several defining moments in Ecclestone’s rise from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of world motor sport, demonstrating how his prescient vision enabled him to seize control of the sport’s trajectory at a time when others were focused on the racing. Whilst acknowledging his contribution to the sport, Stuart observes how his autocratic leadership eventually led to his demise: from being the sport’s most influential individual he was effectively side-lined by its new owners in 2017.