If you have even a cursory interest in motorsport, you would be aware of Formula 1 - the most high-profile and popular motorsport championship in the world - having a new owner as of yesterday night. CVC Capital Partners, a private equity venture capitalist firm, have set in motion a deal that will see the ownership of F1 change - if all conditions of the sale are met - by the first three months of 2017. CVC took over a controlling share in F1 in 2005. The new owners are to be United States based Liberty Media Group.
The new chairman of the Formula One Group will be American Chase Carey. Rather than continue further about the financial ins and outs of the deal - it's valued at around 8 billion dollars while the transaction price is around 4 billion, I'll give you that as it is a staggering sum - I will try and tell you why that gives me hope about the future state of F1 as someone who has been a fan for well over 20 years.
LITTLE AND BIG PROBLEMS
From when I could first recall seeing F1 in the 90s, the sport had two big issues that were constantly held up as significant problems. Inequality among the teams by way of budget and a faster car being stuck behind a slower car while racing for position on account of the effect of the increasingly advanced aerodynamics that created the phenomenon of 'dirty air'. The latter has been addressed via the stop-gap measure of the Drag Reduction System (DRS) but it is perceived to be an 'impure' solution.
The former, however, has unfortunately ballooned to affect many aspects of the sport. And one of the main causes for the budget disparity can be traced to F1's commercial modus operandi, which has been affected by former owners CVC and Bernie Ecclestone.
For all the credit that is heaped on Ecclestone for making F1 as popular as it is today - although he did it to the detriment of other racing series he was supposed to promote as well - the soon to be 86-year-old has been the source of a lot of the negativity that surrounds F1. Especially with regards to his short sighted pursuit of money through controlling the sport's commercial rights - which he got control of in 2001 via a 100-year lease that was given to him for a one time payment by F1's governing body, the FIA. That happened when the FIA was controlled by Ecclestone's good friend Max Mosley. The deal saw F1's commercial rights go to Ecclestone's family held company starting from 2010. But as per the terms of Liberty Media's takeover of ownership Ecclestone will no longer be the CEO of the Formula One Group and it's commercial rights owner and promoter - laughable to consider him as the latter - in 2020.
Which means that F1's majority owners and its CEO - providing all conditions of the sale are met by 2017 - could very well not be an entity looking for nothing more than profiting as much as possible on its investment (CVC) and its willing hatchet man despite his deep roots in motorsport (Ecclestone, who has been involved with F1 in one way or another since the late 1950s).
WHY IT MATTERS TO THE FAN
All of this matters to the fans of F1 - especially the ones in parts of the world where the automobile and motorsport was first developed and thrived - as they saw the sport they loved and followed go from a tense battle featuring a colorful world of drivers, team owners, manufacturers and the occasional political intrigue to a poorly marketed, promoted and managed sporting championship.
That became increasingly apparent as F1's two-wheel counterpart, MotoGP, always managed to keep the spotlight on the racing - which at its best is thrilling due to carefully drafted regulations - despite also having a promoter-owner structure all but identical to F1 on paper. One man in charge of promoting it and looking after its commercial interests, i.e. keeping fans and participating teams and manufacturers happy, and a private equity venture capitalist firm owning it (Bridgepoint Capital).
Meanwhile at the behest of CVC, F1 fans have had to put up with the sport being left behind when it came to sincere efforts to create a level playing field for those in it, the best young drivers being unable to break into it because they didn't have enough sponsorship to pay cash-strapped teams and its dirty laundry almost always being washed in public.
F1's global popularity obviously meant that it would get a lot of media attention and scrutiny but in many ways it overshadowed its most important aspect, the two hours during which a Grand Prix is held on a Sunday.
Understanding how to put the sport and the racing at the forefront along with F1's rich heritage is something that could be a job for Chase Carey.
CHASE CAREY AND FOX SPORTS
The F1 sale is the reason why I even know of Chase Carey. But looking at his credentials, it is hard to not be impressed and hopeful as an F1 fan.
Carey currently serves as the executive vice-chairman of 21st Century Fox, one of the largest mass media conglomerates in the world that owns, among others, the 20th Century Fox movie studio, Fox Sports, Fox News Channel and Star TV.
The 62-year-old helped launch both Fox Sports and Fox News. Consider Carey's outgoing counterpart, Donald Mackenzie of CVC, who new little about sports or media or cared enough about it to do little beyond get a good return on his investment.
Carey has already stated that while focusing on F1's pre-dominantly European fan-base, expanding the sport in Asia and the Americas, the intention is to improve the experience for those attending races as well as seeing how the sport can be disseminated, promoted and marketed on new media and not just focus on television.
It is very early to assume what this all may lead to but the fact that the man seemingly in charge of F1's direction from now on is looking at it as something where the fans are of importance has to be encouraging.
And it is coming from a man well versed in global mass media and who knows how important a role sports plays in that landscape.
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT?
Not really sure at this point in time. If all of this hope of change will lead to things like lower ticket prices, more widely available legal streaming options along with access to unique video content, digital marketing, greater and more aggressive social media presence, the takeover would be one of the best things to ever happen to F1.
And looking beyond the fan experience for a minute, if teams are allowed to buy into a stake of F1 - as has been rumored - there could be stability on the grid in terms of race teams that don't have to be that dependent on Bernie Ecclestone for handouts or have a very rich individual footing their bill or drivers with a lot of sponsorship.
All in all there is a lot to be hopeful for. Seeing the way MotoGP and WEC try to find a balance between huge budgets, a competitive playing field, staying on message, controversy and fan experience sure means that there is enough by way of reference points to build on while keeping grand prix racing's essence intact.
If it all comes to pass, color me one very happy F1 fan.
Write your Comment