It was not just the schedule. The man who almost single-handedly turned Formula One from a ramshackle circus into a tightly organised, global, commercial success story had been dealing with the trauma of breaking up with his wife of 24 years, Slavica, a statuesque Croatian former Armani model. And friends of the couple could see that it was getting to him. As one put it: “Bernie is beginning to show his age.”
But as the Formula One season roars into life in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, the chief executive officer of Formula One Management has returned to the fray firing on all cylinders.
Before long, the subject of the collapse of his marriage comes up — not raised by him, I should add — and you cannot fail to be struck by his equanimity in the face of a blow that would floor many septuagenarians. Ecclestone is one of the funniest people you will meet and even this personal crisis is not off limits on that score. How, I wondered, is he coping with the reality that he may have to spend the rest of his life on his own?
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Later, as he admits he has thrown himself back into his work, taking refuge in the office from the turmoil in his private life, he comes as close as he ever will to acknowledging that things could have been different. “The question is, or should be, had this not happened with Slavica, would I have slowed down doing what I am doing and I think the answer to that is yes,” he says. “In fairness to her, it’s something I’ve been promising for a couple of years.
Eyeing the season ahead, Ecclestone is at his mischievous best. For him, Formula One is a “show” and, as its ringmaster, it is his job to make sure the audience is entertained. So if things are looking a little predictable, he will release a wild tiger every now and again, just to keep everyone on the edge of their seats.
Ecclestone can see that Lewis Hamilton is going to have his work cut out at McLaren Mercedes, who have produced what appears to be an iffy car for him as he prepares to defend his World Championship. “He can rest on his laurels a little bit because he’s world champion. Will he do that? I doubt it. He will make just as big an effort even if the car’s s***,” Ecclestone says succinctly.
He seems confident that Kimi Raikkonen will come back after a disappointing second season with Ferrari as defending world champion, and he is very impressed with Felipe Massa, Raikkonen’s team-mate, but he makes no predictions for the season.
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