Liberty Media buy F1

[siffert_fan]

That will save me quite a lot of money. It could well turn out that 2016 will not be the only season where I don't go to a single race.

Try attending a WRC or WEC race. The former, IMO, has the world's best drivers, and both series offer far more entertaining races than F1, at least to us, and are less expensive as well. You may like them so much you'll never go to an F1 race again!

 

[siffert_fan]

RALYS.mp4

Check this out and then try to convince yourself that these aren't the best drivers (and the bravest) in motorsport. To me, F1 doesn't come close.

 

[FB]

Fascinating but F1 and rally driving are very different disciplines. What it has to do with Liberty Media buying F1 I have no idea.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Maybe siffert_fan is hinting that Liberty bought the wrong series?

 

[vintly]

Bernie to be eased aside by Liberty yadda yadda hardly news. The sentence that stands out for me is:

"Rivalries between drivers are likely to be fiercely promoted."

Ugh, I hope I'm wrong but this stands for a shameless, brash form of marketing aimed to get people whooping and hollering at issues that aren't even there. Like WWF wrestling or something ridiculous. On the other hand, gotta take the rough with the smooth, and I'm sure there'll be plusses as well as minuses across the whole marketing / presentation style.

Bernie Ecclestone to be eased aside as Liberty head for F1 ownership

 

[Bill Boddy]

So there will be more US races, more South American races and the "historic" races will be preserved. Sounds like an overfull calendar to me.

Presumably Trump will ban the Chinese GP.

 

[Andyoak]

Yep, and we'll ban the European GP

 

[cider_and_toast]

So everything has a plus side then

 

[Wombcat]

Will we get a Brexit as well?

 

[Andyoak]

Doesn't matter.
Fucked if we do.
Fucked if we don't.

 

[vintly]

So everything has a plus side then

True, it could all go horribly wrong.

I'd prefer an overfull calendar, at least for a season or two. To see more races and to see what happens. The path of F1 is about to change for good, perhaps dramatically at times. And it's not as if the last 35 odd years since I've been watching has provided a blueprint for how to do it properly, but it's been fun nevertheless. Bring it on.

 

[siffert_fan]

Liberty considers cutting Ferrari's £80m bonus - Pitpass.com

Let's see if they have the guts, which BE certainly did not.

 

[racecub]

I hope they do have the guts and prize money is distributed more fairly.
I read somewhere that Ecclestone will be given a less hands on roll, something like 'life president' .Sean Batches (?) will take on the commercial side and Brawn sort out the sporting side. They hope to finalise that in the coming couple of months.
I really hope they get Brawn!

On a less pleasing level, it looks like there will be more pay to view. The following article talks about it and how viewing figures in U.K. Have dropped by 17% since Fred to view went. There's a table showing the viewing figures.

The article also says Liberty hope to protect traditional European GP's And put more GP's into the US

Exclusive: Liberty Planning More Pay TV For F1

 

[RasputinLives]

So just told my lovely wife the news about Bernie going and she said - and I quote -

"Does this mean Liberty X are running F1 now?"

"So Ferrari we want you to work a little, Red Bull get a hot a little, Merc can you meet them in the middle and give the fans just a little bit more?"

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Chase Carey to be confirmed as CEO of F1 tomorrow. There's a role for Ross Brawn too as sporting something (director?).
Ecclestone confirms Chase Carey has replaced him as CEO of F1

 

[The Pits]

I love his quote "i still have enough money to attend a race"

Yes, one of the few......

 

[Il_leone]

I 'd very much doubt Bernie would be welcomed as a VIP guest even if he turns up in his zimmer frame

Liberty Media have a duty to make F1 more appealing to the global audience and it sounds like the situation regarding the Tv money and the heritage fee that Ferrari get will come under scrutiny

Its about time because it just got to the point where Bernie was selling races to the highest bidder at absolute rubbish venues

 

[Greenlantern101]

Turkey was a great track. Shame they didn't watch motor racing. One of the exceptions.

 

[The Artist.....]

Reading between the lines, Liberty media seem to have a lot of respect for F1's history, and the media image of F1. I've read the following:

• Traditional races (GB, Italy, Monza, Spa) will gain heritage status, and will be protected.
• Races in regimes that are deemed to be "dodgy" (such as Russia, Azerbaijan) are likely to be dropped
• The owners are willing to spend money
• Liberty media want GPs to be week long events - akin to the super-bowl, rather than simply 3 days with no publicity around the area
• Competition may well be highlighted; this may well mean that rules, such as a single tyre supplier, may be eased out.
• More equalisation of the TV money to be distributed amongst teams.

 

[Andyoak]

Where's the Italian GP if it's not at Monza?