At times, it seems all too easy to imagine Formula One bigwig Bernie Ecclestone holding a cat and laughing maniacally like a James Bond villain. He just seems like a horrible person to be on the wrong side of. Now that Ecclestone has put his bribery trial in Germany behind him, his enemies had better watch out because Bernie is scheming for revenge.
"Now I am in a position where I have got a little bit more time and I shall follow my old idea in life: 'Don't get mad, get even.' I haven't got mad but I'm going to get even," said Ecclestone to UK newspaper The Independent. His first target is reportedly German businessman Dieter Hahn from Constantin Medien. Hahn tried to sue Ecclestone for undervaluing F1 shares to allow competing company CVC to buy them but lost.
It's possible that CVC might be putting those shares, which amount to 35 percent ownership of F1, up for sale in the future, and Ecclestone may be angling to buy them back himself. "Lots of people have looked at buying Formula One. Until they start looking at what they have got to pay, it is coffee-shop talk," said Ecclestone to the newspaper. Though, he claims buying the stake isn't a priority for him.
Ecclestone paid $100 million to German prosecutors in early August to have the charges against him dismissed. He was accused of bribing a German banker for preferential treatment and could have faced up to 10 years in prison. Ecclestone told The Independent that the prosecutors came to him first to offer the deal, and they previously said that the F1 supremo's advanced age was also a contributing factor.
"Now I am in a position where I have got a little bit more time and I shall follow my old idea in life: 'Don't get mad, get even.' I haven't got mad but I'm going to get even," said Ecclestone to UK newspaper The Independent. His first target is reportedly German businessman Dieter Hahn from Constantin Medien. Hahn tried to sue Ecclestone for undervaluing F1 shares to allow competing company CVC to buy them but lost.
It's possible that CVC might be putting those shares, which amount to 35 percent ownership of F1, up for sale in the future, and Ecclestone may be angling to buy them back himself. "Lots of people have looked at buying Formula One. Until they start looking at what they have got to pay, it is coffee-shop talk," said Ecclestone to the newspaper. Though, he claims buying the stake isn't a priority for him.
Ecclestone paid $100 million to German prosecutors in early August to have the charges against him dismissed. He was accused of bribing a German banker for preferential treatment and could have faced up to 10 years in prison. Ecclestone told The Independent that the prosecutors came to him first to offer the deal, and they previously said that the F1 supremo's advanced age was also a contributing factor.
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