Comments attributed to Bernie about money

[german tony]

Seems he reckons he's found a way not to pay the teams what he'd agreed to pay.

There's a surprise eh?

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.p...

Question is, which team will be the 1st to bite the dust as a result of his financial chicanery?

[Lord Croker]

I feel sorry for everybody who has to deal with BE. He pretty much always finds a way of backing people into a corner where the only way out is through his pocket.

He may be contributing to the slow demise of F1 as it used to be but I can't help but admire him in some respects. Everything ends up working out to his benefit.

[german tony]

He certainly seems like he could teach Machiavelli a trick or two.

[paulrockliffe]

Are you sure you've read that right? To me it reads like Bernie wants the teams to sign the Concorde Agreement so they can't just disappear, though your interpretation does work as well.

[NeilBeforeZod]

This is just Bernie doing what he's done for years. You set out saying that the teams get nothing, then they're grateful to get something, even if it's way less than they wanted.

His negotiation tactics haven't changed for years and they've made him a billionaire, why change? If he really wanted to sort this, he would go to the teams, not the press.

I expect the teams will bring up starting their own championship as their first strike, before working with Bernie on sorting out a new contract. He'll counter with the fact that they are reducing costs and therefore need less prize money. There will be arguments and counter arguments, but they'll sort it. He may fire a couple of shots at the manufacturers and major sponsors, to try to get their boards to put pressure on the teams to sign quickly.

It's a symbiotic relationship, but who's the host and who's the parasite ...