Simply Abu Dhabi VIII

9 0 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I F1’sdoting father: BernieEcclestone In an interview at a London restaurant, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone wonders how many more surprises fans of the sport are in for before the end of the season – and whether his heart can stand it. B ernie Ecclestone didn't have his hands free to use his fork and spoon to twirl up his pasta at our lunch, because he was too busy clapping themwith glee. The Formula One powerbroker, plotting a stock market flotation before the end of the year, could not be happier about his sport's self promotion in the shape of its eye-catching showcase Grands Prix. There were seven different victors from the opening seven races – and one of them, rank outsider PastorMalondonado, was a no-hoper, grabbing a slice of the action with a shock win in Spain. It just added to the dramatic uncertainty of what has become a spectacle not to be missed. At the time of the interview, those triumphant were the 2009 title holder Jenson Button, who has slumped puzzlingly and lamentably since his impressive opener in Australia, double champions Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel in Malaysia and Bahrain, Nico Rosberg inChina,MarkWebber inMonaco and LewisHamilton inMontreal. Ecclestone, his uneaten spaghetti quickly cooling at our London lunchtime venue, enthused: "In all my years in this business I've never known anything like it. It's historic. "Every Grand Prix has given us something extra special to applaud and be excited about. "The whole show, evidenced by the massive TV audiences right across the world, as well as the sell-out circuit attendances, proves that we are on a winner of a championship right now. "I wonder howmany more surprises we are in for before the end of the season. I hope my old heart can stand it...." He adds wistfully: "Wouldn't it be absolutely magical if Michael Schumacher could be the eighth different winner and recapture his unbeatable ways to take a victory before too long? "Who knows what might have happened in Monaco when, amazingly, he took pole position - 18 years after he had done it for the first time there – only to be penalised five places for a misdemeanour in Barcelona, the race before? Credit: Jonathan McEvoy/Daily Mail/The Interview People.