沒有了伯尼•埃克萊斯頓,F1能否繼續傳奇?

Business.

商業。

Formula One.

一級方程式賽車。

Flagged down.

落馬。

Can Formula One succeed without Bernie Ecclestone?

沒有了伯尼•埃克萊斯頓，F1能否繼續傳奇？

BERNIE ECCLESTONE, the boss of the Formula One Group, rarely sticks around for the finish of a Grand Prix. This is meant to show what a serious businessman he is. Still, eyebrows lifted when he didn't turn up at all to last weekend's race at Hockenheim in Germany. An ongoing court case in Germany over a payment of $44m from Mr Ecclestone to a banker who was involved in the sale of Formula One to CVC Capital, a private-equity firm, in 2005 has put his future at the top of the sport in doubt. German media reported that, had Mr Ecclestone gone to Germany, he might have run into trouble.

F1的掌門人伯尼•埃克萊斯頓很少會在國際汽車大獎賽結束後逗留。這意在顯示他是一個謹慎的商人。然而公衆的對他上週一直沒有出現在德國霍根海姆大獎賽一事依舊錶示驚訝。在2005年，參與CVC資產合作伙伴公司（一傢俬募股權公司）收購F1股份的銀行高管承認收到了埃克萊斯頓4千4百萬“好處費”，這件正在審理的案子讓伯尼在此項運動上掌門地位受到質疑。德國媒體報道稱，如果埃克萊斯頓去了德國，他將陷入困境。

For CVC Capital, the uncertainty over Mr Ecclestone, who is 81, is becoming a problem. CVC took a huge risk in buying into the sport, at a time when several teams were threatening to break away and form a new outfit, in the hope of extracting a larger share of profits. The breakaway never happened and CVC profited handsomely.

對於CVC資產合作伙伴公司來說，81歲埃克萊斯頓的不可靠將成爲最大的問題。CVC爲收購F1管理公司承擔了巨大的風險，因爲爲在當時有數支車隊爲了爭取更大的利潤分成，威脅退出F1另組建新賽事。車隊退賽沒有發生，CVC也賺得漂亮的一手。

CVC had hoped to reduce its stake with an initial public offering (IPO) of Formula One on the Singapore stock exchange. However, in May it sold a total of 21% of the sport, for $1.6 billion, to three institutional investors: Waddell & Reid and BlackRock, both American asset managers, and Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway's state money manager. Combined with cash from the business, the sale gave CVC a tasty 300% return on its original investment-though an IPO could have earned it more. In June CVC postponed the proposed IPO, blaming market conditions.

CVC本打算通過在新加坡證券交易所爲F1首次公開募股的方式減持股份。但是在五月，CVC將16億美元即總資產的21%賣給了三個團體投資人：同爲資產管理者的Waddell & Reid和黑石，還有挪威銀行投資管理——挪威的國家資金管理者。儘管公開募股會賺的更多，結合從營銷中獲得的現金，出售給團體投資人還是帶給了CVC爲原有投資300%的高額回報。在6月，CVC歸咎於市場行情，推遲了原有計劃的公開募股。

Private-equity firms do not often have to deal with chaps like Mr Ecclestone, who has dominated the sport for decades. In 2009 CVC had to join an apology made by Mr Ecclestone for seeming to praise Adolf Hitler. Also that year Sir Martin Sorrell, the boss of WPP, an advertising giant, who sits on the Formula One Group's board, protested when Mr Ecclestone complained that a life ban from Formula One given to Flavio Briatore, Renault's team chief, for ordering a driver to crash, was excessive (The ban was overturned in 2010).

私募股權公司不需要經常與像埃克萊斯頓這樣獻身於F1數十載的老夥計進行交易。在2009年CVC不得不參與到埃克萊斯頓關於自己表揚希特勒的言論的道歉中。在同一年中，WPP，這個廣告業巨頭的總裁、F1董事會成員之一蘇銘天爵士，對埃克萊斯頓的抱怨表示反對，因爲埃克萊斯頓認爲認爲對於雷諾車隊隊長弗拉維奧?布里亞託利操縱車手故意撞車被終生禁止參與F1任何賽車事務的處置太過分了（這項禁令於2010年廢除）。

Now CVC is waiting to see whether Mr Ecclestone will be charged in connection with the case involving the German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky. On June 27th Mr Gribkowsky was found guilty in Munich of receiving corrupt payments, and given a prison sentence, which he is now appealing. According to people close to the sport, if the German authorities charge Mr Ecclestone with a non-trivial offence in relation to the payment to Mr Gribkowsky, (which he has admitted making, though he says he was being blackmailed), he will be permanently removed as chief executive of Formula One Group.

現在CVC正在作壁上觀，看埃克萊斯頓是否因與德國銀行家Gerhard Gribkowsky 受賄案關聯而被控訴。7月27日，Gribkowsky被查出於慕尼黑受賄，已被判入獄，但他現在正在申訴。根據體育圈的人說，如果德國當局對埃克萊斯頓給Gerhard Gribkowsky行賄一事判他嚴重犯罪（行賄一事埃克萊斯頓已經承認），就算他聲稱自己是被勒索，他也將永久被剝奪F1首席執行官的職位。

CVC's managing partner, Donald Mackenzie, is said to be worried about how his possible departure might affect the business. The Formula One Group depends on reaching agreement with a dozen racing teams and the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, which regulates racing. In the past Mr Ecclestone has handled the teams brilliantly, using divide-and-rule tactics to prevent any serious rebellion and to keep a large share of revenues for his firm. He maintains close relations with circuit owners and governments, which together make up the sport's largest source of revenue, in the form of hosting fees. It is not obvious who inside the business could succeed him; Mr Ecclestone reportedly jokes that a number two could send faxes and bring coffee, but nothing else.

CVC的合夥人之一麥肯齊，據說他很擔心埃克萊斯頓可能的離開對商業帶來的影響。F1的正常運轉離不開12支參賽車隊的合作以及負責管理賽車項目的國際汽車聯合會的支持。在過去的日子裏，埃克萊斯頓運籌帷幄，運用分而治之的策略杜絕任何違規行爲併爲自己的公司保持巨大的收益。賽道所有者和政府以主辦的形式爲整個賽事的收益投入巨資，埃克萊斯頓則與這些人保持着緊密的聯繫。目前在賽車圈內尚未發現合適繼任者；埃克萊斯頓據報道有過這樣的玩笑話：二把手可以發傳真可以買咖啡，但是除了這些也沒什麼別的能耐了。

Bernie's blinkers 伯尼的馬失前蹄

Mr Ecclestone is a skilled dealmaker; but he has missed out on two areas of opportunity for the sport. The first of these is the internet. Formula One has barely begun to develop its business online. Licensing Formula One brands and content to video-games firms could generate pots of money, as could online betting.

埃克萊斯頓是個經驗豐富的交易商，但他在這項運動的兩個方面錯失良機。第一個是網絡；F1基本沒有開發其商業網絡，向電子遊戲公司出售F1品牌商標和賽事相關內容的使用權可以帶來大量的金錢收入，媲美網上投注。

Second, Formula One has failed to establish itself in America, despite corporate sponsors' need for exposure in the world's biggest market. Partly because of the steep fees that Mr Ecclestone charges to host a Grand Prix, circuits often end up losing money and stop hosting the event; there has been no American race for the past five years. That will soon change, with Austin, Texas, hosting a race in November and plans for a Grand Prix in New Jersey in June 2013. Red Bull, a team owned by an Austrian energy-drinks firm, is said to be looking at launching a new "Stars and Stripes" Formula One team with American drivers. Local drivers boost audiences.

第二則是儘管贊助商需要在這個世界最大的市場中露面，F1還是沒有進軍美國。一部分是由於埃克萊斯頓所需舉辦大獎賽的經費逐年攀升，賽道所有者往往賠本最終停止舉辦比賽——美國已經在過去的五年沒有舉辦了。這即將發生改變，德州的奧斯汀市將在11月舉辦比賽並計劃將於2013年6月在新澤西舉辦大獎賽。由澳大利亞功能飲料公司所有的車隊紅牛，據說將成爲一個由美籍車手參與的新“星條旗”車隊，本地的車手則會增加觀衆的數量。

Although losing Mr Ecclestone may not be as big a car crash as some fear, there are other risks for the company that sits atop the sport. The biggest is that the teams will demand more money. Without them, after all, there is no show, and they are the sport's biggest cost. Over time, the racers have claimed an ever larger slice of the cake. In 2003 the teams collectively commanded an estimated 27% of the profits that Formula One derived from its three main businesses (hosting fees from governments, selling television rights, and advertising and sponsorship). In a new deal that lasts until 2020, now signed by nearly all of the teams, they will get 63%.

儘管失去了埃克萊斯頓可能不會像撞車那麼讓人害怕，然而其他的風險對於該公司來說則比比賽本身更重要。最大的問題就是車隊會索取更多的利潤分成。畢竟沒有這些車隊，那就沒有比賽可言，但他們是整個賽事中花費最大的。隨着時間的推移，參賽者要求分到的蛋糕越來越大塊。2003年，車隊總共要求的經費大約佔F1從三大主要商業項目（政府的主辦費，電視直播的版權和贊助商的廣告費）收益的27%。在一項持續至2020年，現在所有車隊幾乎都簽署了的新交易中，他們將分到收益的63%。

And some people wonder if Formula One can carry on charging governments so much to host races. By expanding outside traditional markets in Europe, Formula One has been able to keep raising its fees; non-European governments such as Singapore's or India's pay two-fifths more on average to host Grands Prix than traditional markets. For now, demand from governments comfortably exceeds the number of racing slots available. Mr Ecclestone has no shortage of calls from countries such as C?te d'Ivoire and Bulgaria seeking the prestige of hosting a race. Soon, however, they may be calling someone else.

有些人懷疑F1還能否繼續像現在這樣向政府收取大量承辦費用。通過跳出歐洲傳統市場進行擴張，F1已經可以持續不斷地募集經費；非歐洲國家政府例如新加坡和印度，相比傳統市場平均支付了舉辦大獎賽費用的五分之二。目前，政府的需求遠大於已有可用於比賽的賽道數量。埃克萊斯頓呼籲像科特迪瓦和保加利亞這樣，試圖通過舉辦比賽增加威望的國家毫無壓力。不過不久之後，這些國家可能要聯繫其他人了。