New owners set to turn F1 on its head
New Formula 1 owners Liberty Media have hinted at sweeping changes for the sport that include the end of the road for longtime supremo Bernie and the redistribution of funds at the behest of F1's anchor team, Ferrari as Liberty bids to improve the sport's popularity and increase revenues.
“If you’re Ferrari, you have enormous sponsorship revenue that goes directly to you,” the new owners, Liberty chief executive Greg Maffe pointed out regarding the Italian super team's R1.2-billion-a-year appearance money, which is more than double what some F1 minnows receive. “So thinking about balancing the team payments, so they’re a little more balanced and creates more fairness, has to be weighed, in Ferrari’s mind, I would expect, by the fact that creating a great platform helps our sponsorship revenue, too, so there’s give-and-take.”
Some believe that Liberty may be risking Ferrari - F1's oldest team, which has been part of the sport since the outset in 1950 - exiting F1 were it to share the lion's share of its takings with 'garagiste' teams, as founder Enzo often referred to F1's also-rans. Ferrari - F1's biggest brand by far, which has been in the sport 20 years longer than the next-oldest team - has often threatened to quit the sport on far lesser threats, leading to speculation that the team may well dig in on that point...
Reports further suggest that Bernie Ecclestone's time at F1's helm could also be coming to an end with Liberty allegedly planning to announce that Ecclestone will step down as early as next week with the offer a lesser role, amid speculation of Sean Bratches taking a senior commercial role, and former Ferrari tech boss Ross Brawn taking over on the sporting side.
Either way, Formula 1 may be approaching a most significant crossroads in the coming days...
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