New boss Chase Carey calls the sport antiquated and “dysfunctional.”
The elder statesman of Formula 1, the venerable Bernie Ecclestone, has been “deposed” by the new owners of the sport. The outgoing chief executive was expected to remain in the position for another three years or so, but a move by new stewards Liberty Media has seen him ousted from his position, replaced with the steely, sharp 21st Century Fox ex-COO Chase Carey.
Carey, according to a Telegraph report, said that “problems are across the board,” and likened the opaque nature of F1’s outgoing management to “a case of everybody playing a game of poker, trying to bluff each other.” Liberty Media is expected to introduce a raft of changes to the sport, in order to reinvigorate the dying brand and put it back in its place as the world’s premier motor racing sport.
“We’re not marketing the sport,” Carey said. “We’re not enabling fans to connect with it on the platforms that are available today. Our sponsorship relations are one-dimensional, the events feel old… the hospitality feels as if it’s at least 15-years old.” While the new American CEO intends to shake up F1 management where needed, Bernie Ecclestone will still be a part of the loop: He now stands as the Chairman Emeritus of Formula 1, a position that Carey says will afford the new executives Ecclestone’s “advice and help” as they move into the future.
Of the new executives, Carey has appointed Ross Brawn of Ferrari fame and Sean Bratches of ESPN to managing director positions, with the former as handling ‘motor sports, and the latter as the commercial operations director. The appointments of Brawn and Bratches are crucial as part of Liberty’s push to reinvigorate Formula 1, with viewership in decline and interest waning.
Brawn is especially valuable to F1 management: With so many new faces hitherto unrelated to the sport, Ross Brawn’s recognisable profile and standing in the sport will help allay the fears sport purists harbour regarding the possible ‘Americanisation’ of Formula 1. Even the mention of the name has many heaving relived sighs, as Carey intends to turn the F1 calendar into “21 Super Bowls,” a stark contrast from the high-brow elitist image that the sport currently holds itself to.
It’s not all bad blood between Liberty and Ecclestone, though: Chase Carey recognised the former chief executive’s efforts, saying that “the sport is what it is today because of him, and he will always be a part of the F1 family." Ross Brawn said that “a race without Bernie will seem very odd,” and that he has “been exceptional in what he has achieved. He grabbed this business by the horns, and made it what it is today.”
“At 86, I hope that he is bowing out gracefully, and viewing everything that he has created with a lot of pride. He was a unique and iconic figure, the likes of which – in F1 at least – will never be seen again,” Brawn concluded.
