Bernie Ecclestone may have turned 86 today (Happy Birthday, Mr E), but I won't use that as a reason to offend octogenarians by offering it as an excuse for some of his statements -- even more absurd than usual -- that hit the headlines yesterday.
Actually, 'hitting the headlines' is probably an appropriate phrase. Apart from Ecclestone's devious pleasure in creating box office appeal for F1, it strikes me that the increasing number of sound bites in recent weeks is an indication of a faintly desperate need to prove that he remains the focal point of a business that previously had his name above the door.
It must be difficult, after 40 years, to suddenly face the fact that the only thing of consequence outside your family is about to be forcibly removed for good. And not on your exact terms. Forget the new three-year contract. Ecclestone is wise enough -- and certainly old enough -- to realise that his desk will be metaphorically eased into the corridor alongside the water cooler as soon as the new bosses fully understand the complexities of this unique business and feel ready to take complete charge.
Bernie is free to say what he pleases, of course. The problem here is that safety is a sensitive subject, particularly when the speaker appears to make light of it by helping create headlines that shout for more crashes to 'spice up' F1. There's no point in Ecclestone complaining his words were taken out of context; he knew full well the selective sensationalism likely to result from his flippant remarks.
The contradiction comes if you agree there is thread of truth running through some of his statements. Building walls is impractical -- not to mention stupid -- even if their presence would bring the need for 10 times more precision than is necessary when the penalty for a misjudgement is the minor inconvenience of a high-speed detour across an asphalt run-off. I get the theory behind what he says just as much as I go along with the call to have Charlie Whiting make a track limit exactly that. Install kerbs, add gravel (where safe to do so without causing a car to dig in and roll); just do whatever is necessary to increase the challenge.
But for Ecclestone to suggest that in an incident such as Fernando Alonso's massive shunt in Melbourne, it would be a 'bit of showbiz' to put big sheets around the scene, bring in the ambulance, take the driver away and string out the drama by not announcing the relatively uninjured driver is okay until much later: if this is not tongue in cheek, then it is Birthday Boy who needs carting off for urgent medical attention.