No one wants him out.
AP, Jan 15, 2014 wrote:Christian Horner, team principal of reigning constructors' champion Red Bull, believes Ecclestone is "the only guy" who can ensure F1 maintains its global reach as the premier motorsport series.
Forbes, Feb 25, 2015 wrote:“I’ve done so many deals on a handshake,” {Ecclestone] told GQ magazine in 2013 adding that “the biggest thing for me is people trust me so people rely on me.” It has been lost on no one.
“At the end of the day, Formula One is a closet of hundreds of contracts and Bernie knows them all. He has done them all. The teams trust him and it is difficult to get trust with teams,” says Mr [Alejandro] Agag [boss of the Formula E electric championship].
Echoing this, Mr Ecclestone told the Independent in 2012 that “one day, I’m not going to be there and one of the biggest problems is I’ve got really, really good relationships with the race promoters. A few of them said to me, ‘if you’re not there, we’re not there’. That’s what the danger is. They feel that they trust me and wouldn’t want to let me down. That’s probably a very important issue.”
Ron Walker, chairman of the Australian Grand Prix, concurs and revealed to motoring magazine Autoweek that “there will be a number of promoters who will retire when Bernie retires.” Mr Walker explained that “promoters have a very special relationship with Bernie. He is more of a friend than a business colleague, and they are reaching the same age group.”
Bernie Ecclestone is a shining example of the reality that you can be one of the most odious --- walking the face of the planet, which he is, but you'll have few problems in the business world if you deliver what you say you'll deliver every single time, and he does.
