Eighty is Just a Number to Bernie

What would you do on your 80th birthday? Me? Well, probably a slap-up meal, more than a few drinks, and pretty much anything I bloody well want!

Bernie Ecclestone turned 80 yesterday and he did what he bloody well wanted as well which, in his inimitable case, meant another day at the coalface.

I know this for a fact because he telephoned me to discuss a matter from his HQ on the edge of London's Hyde Park, finding a couple of minutes in a schedule which, having ticked the South Korean Grand Prix box from last weekend, now moves on to a fascinating denouement of a Formula One season that sees, with two races remaining, five title contenders.

Now, I know it helps being a billionaire, but only his bitterest enemy can fail to admire the rampant enthusiasm of the man who still goes to work with a skip in his walk. Is 80 a big deal for him?

"It's just a figure, isn't it?" he says. "I was 79 the day before. Am I different now? No. It's all a nonsense really."

Still, it didn't stop Sebastian Vettel presenting him with a walking frame, complete with steering wheel and front wing on behalf of Red Bull in Korea on Sunday!