Vatanen: The man to stop bernie in his tracks?

[UltimateDanGTR]

first of all, excuse the pun in the title.

anyway, interesting statement by Ari Vatanen below, in which he states he wants to keep the british grand prix at silverstone. whats more, Vatanen has expressed concern over how the Formula 1 calender is usually structured. He talks about the fact that F1 currently goes to some places where the stands are less than half full (china, bahrain, turkey immediatly spring to mind) and there are some places like france, hockenheim etc without grands prix, with these being the traditional homes of grand prix racing. Basically, he thinks this is wrong. and as we know, the calender is drawn up by bernie, and then has to be approved by the FIA. and year on year it appears Max has not challenged the calander so bernie gets his way. But if Vatanen was to become president of the FIA, It sounds like he has his own ideals about the F1 calender, a view shared by pretty much everyone except bernie and his pockets, so maybe, just maybe, Vatanen could be the man to stop Bernies money grabbing and make F1 proper again? he also talks about the ridiculous price of tickets, and how the average middle class family can hardly afford to go and see the races.

So, Is Vatanen the man to rescue F1 from the clutches of Bernie, and turn around the FIA into something other than a joke? Looks like it. Article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8239260.stm

[Sonic]

Well he is certainly saying all the right things. But it must be remembered that he is basically a politician and it it hardly uncommon for victors in elections to - shall we say forget - some of their promises once in power. Whichever candidate is appointed I shall with hold my opinions until after 12 months as president.

But certainly if AV does half the things he is suggesting he would be a very worthy FIA president indeed.

[ioan]

This just proves that he doesn't know squat about the FIA.
The EU has already ruled that the FIA has no right to mix in the sports commercial side, that's why Max had to sell the commercial rights to Bernie in the first place.

I have a feeling this Vatanen guy is really not smart enough to lead the FIA.

[UltimateDanGTR]

This just proves that he doesn't know squat about the FIA.
The EU has already ruled that the FIA has no right to mix in the sports commercial side, that's why Max had to sell the commercial rights to Bernie in the first place.

I have a feeling this Vatanen guy is really not smart enough to lead the FIA.

In the article it did say he knows the commercial side is not the FIAs side of things I do believe, or he said something along those lines anyway. the point is maybe he wants to cooperate with bernie, advise him whats best, its bernies decision at the end of the day but I think the point he was trying to make was that he wishes to influence bernie into seeing what F1 needs. on the scheduale front, the calender always needs approving by the FIA, so Mr Vatanen could end up having a say in the F1 calander that way.

[Big Ben]

This just proves that he doesn't know squat about the FIA.
The EU has already ruled that the FIA has no right to mix in the sports commercial side, that's why Max had to sell the commercial rights to Bernie in the first place.

I have a feeling this Vatanen guy is really not smart enough to lead the FIA.

I have? Well... then i have changed my mind... since the moron is on his way out... I hope

[ioan]

the point is maybe he wants to cooperate with bernie, advise him whats best...

Good joke, really.
Bernie doesn't give a damn about what others think, more so if the other is pretty much no one.

[UltimateDanGTR]

Good joke, really.
Bernie doesn't give a damn about what others think, more so if the other is pretty much no one.

If you would notice, I never said anything about Bernie wanting to cooperate with anyone, let alone Mr.Vatanen ;)

whether bernie listens is another matter, with the answer to that matter probably 'no' :rolleyes:

[52Paddy]

Good news regardless. I would be similar to Sonic in my viewpoint. Its difficult to know how good a job Vatanen would really do, if given the position of "Head of the FIA." However, it does sound good. Vatanen is a politician, and has experience in those circles. For better or for worse, who knows...but at least he knows the politics game. I don't like to think about the politics involved in F1. But, let's face it, that's what the sport has morphed into over the years. We may as well have someone with the know-how to operate in those situations.

As well as that, he obviously has competitive rally driving years behind him, and a very sucessful one at that. It appears that Ari has the elements and build-up of a great leader. Anything beats the masochist and mop-head anyway.

So at the moment, I'd be all for Ari becoming president. :up:

[ioan]

If you would notice, I never said anything about Bernie wanting to cooperate with anyone, let alone Mr.Vatanen ;)

whether bernie listens is another matter, with the answer to that matter probably 'no' :rolleyes:

No offense intended, sorry if my previous comment was offensive.

It's just that I find Vatanen very naive, to say the least.

[UltimateDanGTR]

No offense intended, sorry if my previous comment was offensive.

It's just that I find Vatanen very naive, to say the least.

no offence taken. i was just pointing out the small details. ;) err, again. im sad and padantic like that. :D

although the naive thing is interesting, perhaps he is a little, optomism in F1 can often be very naive........

[52Paddy]

It's just that I find Vatanen very naive, to say the least.

Who would you rather have in the king's chair? Purely curious. :)

[Nikki Katz]

There's no way he'll get it, the only people that can vote an FIA president in are the members (60 or so people isn't it), and he's already annoyed the FIA by suggesting that they were putting too much support behind Todt. He's just not corrupt enough for the job.

[52Paddy]

the only people that can vote an FIA president in are the members (60 or so people isn't it)

Get Jim Bamber on the case!!

[ioan]

Who would you rather have in the king's chair? Purely curious. :)

Sarkozy! :D

[52Paddy]

Sarkozy! :D

No comment {for various, contrasting reasons :p :}

[Saint Devote]

I dont think it is a good way to campaign by taking an adversarial side to Bernie as Vatinen seems to be set doing.

So many people imagine that the buildout and size of f1 just stepped out from the ether. It did not.

Just like any successful enterprise it has been the result of vision and persistent work. Hard work.

Bernie did not take anything and those who constantly accuse him of "moneygrabbing" make an accusation that smacks of pure resentment or anti-capitalism.

It was the f1 teams that agreed for Bernie to begin to represent them and in the process over the years, they have become extremely wealthy people.

Bernie went from being a world championship team owner to creating a sport that today is only rivalled in financial and viewer terms by the Summer Olympics and the soccer World Cup.

Of course it would be great to include the traditional tracks, but I have not heard the teams complaining EVER.

Why? Because they are paid on time - Bernie assures that. They are paid according to contract and disputes are settled quickly. They compete at tracks where the facilities are mostly the best in the best in the world, they have a lifestyle that ensures the countriues they visit treat them like royalty.

Vatanen is setting himself up for a defeat if he intends to run on changing f1 fundamentally. The FIA elections are about the management of the rules and setting of the rules, not turning f1 upside down and trying to usurp the man that created it.

As a fan, I may not like the idea of some of the nations that are allowed the privilege of a grand prix, that some of the traditional tracks are gone or grands prix no longer hold races, or a number of other things.

But I do respect Bernie and have "known" him since the days his team first produced a winnng car with Gordon Murray as designer. The people in the FIA also know who he is - Herbie Blash for example was his team manager.

But I also trust him as the one that does the best for f1. If Bernie says something or does something, I trust him.

This may not be a popular view, and usually it is those pretty new to the sport that think otherwise.

But I know, that each season when the new calendar is announced, I can take it as close to certainty as anything, that there will be 17 or so grand prix and that each team will arrive at the circuit knowing that all they have to do is set up and race.

There is a price for all that, and there is nothing immoral or unethical for trying to charge the highest price.

Bernie is the foundation that makes this work and those trying to undermine the existing structure, such as Vatanen are going to find that reality bites.

On this statement alone, I say that Vatanen has just lost the election. And that the next FIA preident will be Jean Todt.

[Ari]

<------------

Need to say he has my vote!!!! :)

...and yes, that is where my name came about.

[ioan]

Yeah he's certainly saying what the fans want to hear...

Depends on which fans you talk about. Indian, Chinese, Korean, Arab etc will probably not agree with him.

Also he seems a bit lost as it's not the fans who will vote fore him anyway, so he should maybe try to say what the FIA members want to hear in case he is serious about his election.

[ioan]

You're right but these countries are new to the game and its countries like Germany, Belgium, Britain, Italy etc etc which contributed to what F1 is today. Probably abit biased by myself but I would like to see races remain in Europe.

Races will remain in Europe, don't worry.