My memories of Bernie's rise and fall
Bernie Ecclestone leaves a mixed legacy in Formula 1 and his removal from the top job was welcomed by many. But there was a lot more depth to Ecclestone's life in and influence over F1 than his modern critics would suggest
In recent days, following the announcement of Bernie Ecclestone's removal from the helm of Formula 1, it has been irritating to see suggestions that until he came along, it was little more than a ragbag of bumbling amateurs. Perhaps these people never met Enzo Ferrari or Colin Chapman, nor remembered days when, at a place like Hockenheim, there was not a seat to be had.
Chronologically my own life in F1 has more or less dovetailed with Ecclestone's, for 1971, when I started work as a journalist, was also the year that he moved in from the fringes of 'the sport', and began to transform it into 'the business'.
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