A big take-over and a new era of popularity for F1?
28th October 2016
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Last month’s news that Formula One is finally under new ownership felt like a fresh wave for the sport. American entertainment conglomerate Liberty Media’s new deal, believed to be up to $6billion, brings a new wave of optimism for the fans of the modern sport.
TV giant Chase Carey has been appointed as Formula One's new chairman, succeeding the relatively quiet Peter Brabeck-Letmathe (of former majority stakeholders CVC Capital Partners), with CEO Bernie Ecclestone retaining his current role for at least the next three years in order to pass on his four decades of Formula One experience to the new owners.
"I am thrilled to take up the role of Chairman of Formula One and have the opportunity to work alongside Bernie Ecclestone, CVC and the Liberty Media team," explains Carey in an official statement from Liberty Media.
"I greatly admire Formula One as a unique global sports entertainment franchise attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the world. I see great opportunity to help Formula One continue to develop and prosper for the benefits of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike".
As the calendar hits 21 races, already above the team's preferred target of 20, how many races is too many? Will teams, drivers and journalists all be able to cope with further race increases, and further charges, to compete year on year in a sport which is obsessed with driving down costs? Could this detract from the quality of the racing and even the size of the grids as teams lower down the field struggle to stretch their budgets to last the season's duration?
The introduction of Liberty Media into the Formula One paddock is an exciting one, albeit one that presents many unanswered questions. Chase Carey has laid down what Liberty are all about and if his promises are delivered, this could be the most exciting deal for the sport in generations.
However, despite this buzz, something doesn’t seem right. If expansion abroad is a done deal it must be confronted in the right way. There is a worry that if Chase Carey and Liberty Media get ahead of themselves and move too quickly with their changes, the media giant could do more damage to the sport than good.

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