02/05/2005
NEWS STORY
In a recent, rather ludicrous interview, for some reason picked up on by much of the F1 media, even though the story has been well documented in the past, Bernie Ecclestone was asked if he was involved in The Great Train Robbery. He wasn't.
The F1 supremo subsequently revealed that if there was one other sport that he would like to get involved in it would be tennis, a world championship series that, in his opinion, needs a major overhaul. He apparently held talks with the sport's governing body and expressed an interest in getting involved. They weren't.
Although born in Suffolk and raised in Kent, it appears that Bernie is a fan of Chelsea football club - though this news only breaks as the west London team wins a major title for the first time in 50 years. Talking to a Sunday tabloid, the day after Chelsea won the Premiership, Ecclestone revealed that at one time he came close to buying the west London team in partnership with Flavio Briatore. They didn't.
Last weekend, Bernie met with team bosses in an effort to agree a change to the current qualifying format. Despite what you may have heard elsewhere, Bernie was the man behind the new format, which has proved so unpopular with fans, teams, drivers and broadcasters. Ecclestone sat with nine of the team bosses at Imola and tried to agree a new format, at a time when the racing is actually improving and qualifying appears to be the one weak link. They couldn't.