A bit of a softie

Tom Bower’s fearsome reputation as a biographer preceded him in the Formula One paddock.

Tom Bower’s fearsome reputation as a biographer preceded him in the Formula One paddock. His devastating treatment of subjects such as Conrad Black, Mohamed Al-Fayed and Richard Branson was well known. So here, at last, was a writer who would unravel the mystery of Bernie Ecclestone and explain how he progressed from selling buns in his school playground to wielding great power over a major world sport, trousering billions of pounds on the way.

We all suspected that much of the mystery was created by Bernie himself. He loved to give the impression of a ruthless, frightening individual with a dark and menacing side. He liked to hint at sinister connections to the underworld. Team owners who envied his wealth, despite profiting immensely from his success, would gossip about unscrupulous dealings. The politicians, businessmen, circuit owners and motor-industry bosses he dealt with were all intrigued by him. So there was a mystery. No one knew the whole story but everyone wanted to know. Here, at last, was a major-league investigative biographer who would expose all.

The result does not disappoint. It is a fascinating story, brilliantly told. Inevitably, much of the mystery disappears. Instead of the hard-nosed semi-gangster, we find someone with an unusually sharp mind and a love of dealing, who had honed his skills with constant practice and, by his early twenties, had become a sort of national champion of the second-hand car trade. His blood-curdling threats of having fingers cut off or legs broken turn out to be fiction. Bernie, we find, is sentimental, even soft, in his personal dealings, but ready and more than able to exploit any weakness in business. Those who reject his offers never get a second chance when they realise their mistake.