Don’t worry Jeremy Clarkson’s invites from Ferrari and Mercedes will not end any time soon after he told both to fuck off. Both corporations will laugh it off and give Clarkson a thumbs up, nudge-nudge, wink-wink and share a drink. Clarkson has too much of a high profile for Mercedes and Ferrari to turn their backs on the on-off controversialist.

Now… if we here at DCB HQ told Ferrari and Mercedes to fuck off we’d be banned… from everywhere. And we have been banned by the industry from which we make a very poor living.

Clarkson’s rant about how to fix F1 is an example of the status and power of celebrity. If we had said the same there would be talk of “I do declare, how dare they! Sir! You should never bite the hand that feeds you!”

For Clarkson, there will be no such retribution, merely a “mate! that was telling them… eh!” And that sentiment will be from Mercedes and Ferrari marketing and PR. The very people he rails against in the video.