While certainly drawing his fair share of criticism over the years, Formula One mastermind Bernie Ecclestone has always held the financial well being of the series close to his heart. Of late, that has meant looking towards Asia and the Middle East for a new rich source of F1 fans.

Six of the eighteen races on the 2008 F1 calendar are scheduled to be run in and around Asia, including Singapore’s running of the first-ever F1 night race in September. Add to that total the deals being negotiated with organizers in Abu Dhabi, South Korea, and India, and the possibility of having more than half the F1 race calendar outside of Europe becomes a very real one. Said Ecclestone, “I am very bullish about the East.