Probably the best thing I could do if I was 17 again would be to find an 18-year-old girlfriend... Bernie Ecclestone

Q: Bernie, would you want to be 17 again? Bernie Ecclestone: Oh no! It wasn’t the easiest time when I grew up but it was more human, more realistic. Today everything goes too fast, is too superficial. Technical innovations play too big a part in our daily life. Before, a word was a word – today you have contracts with hundreds of pages. Overregulation is the name of the game – in life as well as in Formula One. Probably the best thing I could do if I was 17 again would be to find an 18-year-old girlfriend! (laughs) Q: Can you describe life at 17? BE: I can’t remember! It’s a pretty long time ago… No I raced motorbikes. I always raced something: bicycles, motorbikes, cars – whatever I could lay my hands on. Max Verstappen: I am living my dream! I am only 17 and can already practice my dream job: I am racing in Formula One! Unbelievable! BE: You deserve it. You are a racer! (Ecclestone pats the youngster on the back. Verstappen blushes.) Q: Bernie, there is a lot of talk about past eras when drivers were ‘real men’ – now we have boys in the cars. Would a 17-year-old F1 driver have been thinkable a few decades ago? BE: I was racing in my teens. I think there is no such thing as an age factor – it’s much more about being competitive or not. It is probably also about how long you are in the sport. I think there is something they call the 'fatigue strength reduction factor'. If you start at 20, it might hit you when you are 30 that you develop a strong wish for a change. The later you start, the later it hits you.

There is no such thing as an age factor – it’s much more about being competitive or not Bernie Ecclestone

Q: Taking that into account, you stopped your racing career very early. Was there a dramatic event behind that? BE: I had some accidents when I was around 20 - and I had a real good business running at the same. So instead of risking fatality I decided to make it big in business. Probably deep down inside I knew that I was not good enough… MV: I have great respect for somebody who calls it quits. For all who are racing it is a dream job - or actually more than a dream job: it is what makes you feel alive. And to walk away because you think you’re not good enough - that is probably a triumph of brain over passion. Then you have the chance to be successful somewhere else. There are so many who hang on too long - and have nothing in the end. BE: Racing is a dream job if you’re winning. What’s the point in hanging on in losing? Q: Max, to what do you attribute the fact that at such a young age you’ve already made it into Formula One racing? MV: I simply didn’t have the chance not to! At home everything was evolving around racing. Mum and dad raced, so I am a chip off the old block, I guess! Q: Being successful and competitive at a young age are traits that don’t fall from the sky. What have you both learned from your fathers? BE: Nothing. MV: I grew up in a race-crazy family. My dad showed me everything. The dos - but more importantly the don’ts! An F1 career is a very fragile thing… BE: …and you can start as young as possible and can be faster than anybody else - but you also need luck on your side to become a world champion! MV: True! Look what's happened to Fernando Alonso. He is still one of the best drivers around but didn’t manage to win a title in five years with Ferrari and now with McLaren a title seems more elusive than ever right now. Being the best driver around is not enough: you also have to sit in the best car - otherwise misfortune sticks with you. BE: It’s all about timing: being in the right place at the right time! MV: Maybe you can help me with that, Bernie? Though I must say that I am really happy with my team Toro Rosso! Q: Bernie, what advice can you give a boy of 17? BE: Don’t listen to too many people. Set your own marks. Do only what you think is right for you. I did it exactly that way. One other bit of advice: save your money and don’t speculate with it… MV: I am doing that already! I don’t need all these jet-set gadgets. I am fully concentrated on my career.

I tell my engineers they should not overload me...sometimes I switch off the display in my car! Max Verstappen