Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone is an English
business magnate, as president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula
One Administration and through his part-ownership of Alpha Prema, the parent
company of the Formula One Group of companies. As such, he is generally
considered the primary authority in Formula One racing. He is most commonly
addressed in tabloid journalism as "F1 Supremo". His early
involvement in the sport was as a competitor and then as a manager of drivers
Stuart Lewis-Evans and Jochen Rindt. In 1972, he bought the Brabham team, which
he ran for fifteen years. As a team owner he became a member of the Formula One
Constructors Association. His control of the sport, which grew from his
pioneering the sale of television rights in the late 1970s, is chiefly
financial, but under the terms of the Concorde Agreement he and his companies
also manage the administration, setup and logistics of each Formula One Grand
Prix. Ecclestone entered two Grand Prix races as a driver, during the 1958
season, but failed to qualify for either of them.
