Sid Watkins - Formula 1's Doc Supreme - once said: "Arguing with Bernie Ecclestone is like reading a newspaper in high wind". At Sochi, we tested the veracity of the massively missed professor's observation, finding it to be utterly true.
We meet in Bernie's hospitality suite while FP3 is in full swing, the agreed time of 1100am having come and gone. He apologises, muttering disarming phrases about having broken off a meeting with "important people, but I explained that you were more important..." before postponing the next interview, with Russian media.
First question: How worried are you, as CEO of commercial rights holder Formula One Management, about Formula 1's future? Curt response: "I think no more than I've ever been."