Bernie Ecclestone's Most Ridiculous Formula One Moments

Bernie Ecclestone is the President and CEO of Formula One Management. Put simply, he runs the sport of Formula One.

He decides what tracks host races, what new rules should be introduced, and things like that.

However, Bernie Ecclestone appears to have gone a little bit power crazy. Some of his ideas have been nothing short of ridiculous, and although they are normally just scare tactics to get publicity, they are still absolutely mad suggestions.

Introduce Medals

Bernie decided not too long ago that Formula One would be better and more exciting if it were set up like the Olympics. Gold, silver, and bronze medals for first, second, and third place respectively would mean that there would be more risk taken in trying to get to the front of the pack.

What he didn't seem to realise is that this stops the smaller teams and rookie drivers from developing quite as well by getting in the lower end of the points. Medals would mean that only the best few teams would ever get any recognition and the others would just be there to make up the numbers.

Quoting Hitler

"Hitler got things done" - Bernie Ecclestone

Before I start to explain what Bernie Ecclestone said here, I would like to make one thing abundantly clear. He was NOT defending Hitler or his crimes in any way whatsoever.

The quote, however, was simply meant to get across how long things can take in Formula One, from new rules to agreeing on equipment. Bernie mentioned how Hitler ensured things were done quickly and efficiently rather than leaving things to drag out.
Although Bernie was not condoning any of what Hitler had done, it still wasn't the wisest comparison for someone to make.

Introduce Shortcuts

Not too long ago Bernie was toying with the idea of introducing shortcuts to increase overtaking opportunities (and no doubt crashes too). A driver would have been allowed to take a shortcut five times in any race.

This obviously drew much criticism from people as well as comparisons to computer games such as Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing.

It's safe to say that this idea won't be bought up again in a hurry.

Ayrton Senna's Death

"Senna's death was good for Formula One" - Bernie Ecclestone

Although Bernie Ecclestone was sad at losing a great (or the greatest) Formula One driver he also made a comment that shocked fans of the sport worldwide.

He mentioned that Ayrton Senna's death was good for F1 due to the publicity it bought to the sport.
This obviously wasn't the wisest thing for him to say considering that the publicity it brought was more concerns about safety, and obviously that the sport had just lost arguably its biggest icon.

Really, it would have been nice if Bernie had shown the great man a little bit more respect.

Dropping the Monaco GP from the Calender

One of his more recent ideas was dropping the Monaco GP from the annual calender because it was "not paying enough."

It is foolish enough of Bernie to think that the sport would be the same without Monaco, let alone go as far as suggesting it be dropped from the calender. It is arguably the biggest and most recognised race worldwide (that and someone's home grand prix).

Dropping Monaco from Formula One would be like dropping Brazil from the FIFA World Cup.

Danica Patrick

"Women should all be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances" - Bernie Ecclestone

Either Bernie Ecclestone is a poor joke teller or he is just incredibly sexist.

This was actually said by Bernie when he was talking about the possibility of Danica Patrick racing in Formula One. According to most news reports, Bernie called Danica to apologise for his comments but then repeated them soon after.

Regardless of your opinions of female drivers in Formula One, this was a very stupid quote from a ridiculous man.