Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something – Plato
A few days ago it was the turn of the silent one, now we are to hear from the invisible banker who owns Formula One – Donald MacKenzie.
Having owned Formula One for the best part of ten years, Donald MacKenzie has finally begun taking an interest in the sport. He has been present at a number of the recent GP weekend’s canvassing opinion on what people believe needs to be done to ‘save’ Formula One.
Unfortunately, they key points addressed by MacKenzie when speaking to Adam Cooper appear to be defensive rather than pro-active. The CVC chairman was credited with pressing the idea of a return to refuelling upon the Biggin Hill meeting of the F1 strategy group in May.
“I’m not sure that refuelling is one of the top priorities. I think we’re just trying to work out how to make the cars go faster,” MacKenzie explains.
“They need more fuel to go quicker, and someone said we might need to refuel, but it was never a strategy.”
Apparently Donald feels it necessary to cheer up Dietrich Mateschitz too.
“I think he’s obviously disappointed about where the team is. But he’s a good guy, and I’m sure they’re going to sort that team out, and he’ll be winning again.
“Red Bull need a better engine than they have, and it would be great if Renault could come up with it. Bernie’s trying to find them a better engine.”
Lol, RFLOL and lots and lots more lol…. and PMSL… in fact words are not enough…
And with regard to the ‘stupid’ smaller teams who clearly have no idea about money or really clever stuff like – contracts and income distribution.
“There are contracts in place, and they agreed with the contracts when they signed them,” McKenzie states.
“It’s always annoying when people change their minds later. We want to help the small teams when we can. We can reduce costs, make the sport more attractive, and get more sponsorship. That would be a good thing.”
Think Duck – think cartoon – think Donald.
In fact, to explain why the smaller teams signed the F1 contracts they did – the classic cartoon scene springs to mind where someone whips out a gun from a pocket which morphs instantly to the size of their entire body – and is placed against the head of another. Eyeballs stand out 3 metres on stalks… and yes the rest is obvious.
An old wisdom saying suggests. “Better to stay silent and let people think you are a fool [or corporate banker] – than open your mouth and remove all doubt”.
The Judge, a nom de plume of an experienced F1 journalist and site founder with long-standing sources across the paddock. With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Donald MacKenzie must be the very Rolex owning, old duffer who Bernie wants to attract to F1. Now we know how Bernie runs rings around CVC.
I doubt mr MacKenzie would wear a low rent watch like a rolex, it would be quite an embarrassment around his friends.