Ecclestone's Presence At Sunday's German Grand Prix Uncertain

Ecclestone May Not Attend Grand Prix Race This Weekend Following Hitler Comments

F1 Management Chair Bernie Ecclestone "has already bowed to pressure to stay away from the formal opening of a leisure centre" during this Sunday's Santander German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring race track, and it is "still uncertain" if Ecclestone will attend the race following his recent comments about Adolf Hitler, according to Roger Boyes of the LONDON TIMES. Sources said that if Ecclestone "stays away" from the race, it will be "tantamount to admitting that his position has become untenable." Ecclestone has "tried to dig himself out of trouble, first by shrugging off criticism and then by attempting to clarify matters, but has only made things worse in the eyes of his critics." A spokesperson for Nürburgring GmbH, the company that runs the track, said that Ecclestone "called off a visit tomorrow after a phone conversation with organisers." Meanwhile, Boyes notes Ecclestone has hired London-based PR firm Finsbury (LONDON TIMES, 7/8). In London, Damian Reece writes of the potential impact of Ecclestone's comments on F1, "I'd expect the sport's sponsors, companies I know well such as Vodafone and Santander, to reconsider their commercial relationships with the sport at the earliest opportunity, or at the very least join those calling for Ecclestone's resignation. Do it behind closed doors by all means but for heaven's sake do something" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/8).

TAKING HIS MEDICINE: In Manchester, Antony Lerman writes "nightmarish and fantastical ... probably sums up Formula One for Ecclestone right now." Ecclestone "deserved nothing less than to be read a history lesson" following his comments, but "whether he has the capacity to absorb it fully is doubtful." The Central Council of Jews in Germany is "calling on fans and Formula One teams to boycott" this weekend's race. While that "doesn't seem likely, the Germans are understandably far less sanguine than the British about people who find something not unflattering to say about Hitler." Also, if reports are "correct that Ecclestone appeared to blame Jews for the banking crisis, he is even more cut off from reality than it first appeared" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 7/8). ESPN.com's Terry Blount wrote Ecclestone "needs to step down and leave the sport after his shocking comments." Blount: "Crazy comments are nothing new for Ecclestone, but this time he went too far" (ESPN.com, 7/7).