Liberty Media Completes Takeover

LIBERTY MEDIA COMPLETES TAKEOVER 

    Liberty Media has completed its takeover of Formula One, ending Bernie Ecclestone’s four decades in charge of the sport. The American company paid £6 billion for the series and have wasted no time in setting out their plans for the future.

    Chase Carey, who Liberty had already installed as the sport’s chairman, replaces Ecclestone as the chief executive officer, but he isn’t alone at the top of the new management pyramid. After three years away from the sport, Ross Brawn returns to F1 as the new motorsport managing director, whilst Sean Bratches has taken up the role of commercial operations managing director.

    It was rumoured that Ecclestone might be planning a competing series, but Ecclestone has denied the claims, saying he doesn’t want to damage F1. Carey is keen for him to play an advisory role in the future.

    Fresh faces mean fresh ideas and Carey has already started sharing his vision for the future of F1. Most notable is his keenness to make races “events”, similar to the Superbowl in America. He also wants to add at least one more US race to the calendar, whilst strengthening the traditional Western European races like the British and the German GPs.

    The new era of Formula One could also be more friendly for smaller teams. One of the first things Carey did when he became CEO is lay out his plans to change the prize fund system that sees Ferrari get a bonus just for taking part, whilst Brawn has already expressed that he wants to help smaller teams stand on their own two feet.

    Overall there is a general optimism both in the paddock and from the fans about the future of Formula One, but it’s not known when any of these planned changes are set to come into place.

----

Article Written By: Bethonie Waring

No copyright infringement intended

Follow us on Twitter @Bethonie_Boost & @F1Insider78