Liberty Media isn’t in F1 just for profit
American group Liberty Media, the new owner of Formula 1, has made it clear through Chase Carey, who has been appointed president of the sport, that its presence in F1 is not motivated solely by profit.
Chase Carey, the new president of Formula 1 appointed by Liberty Media, attended his first Grand Prix in Singapore. On this occasion, he emphasized that the American group that acquired the discipline was there to stay.
Monetary motivation, although present in everyone’s minds, is not the group’s primary objective: “Of course profits are important,” Carey specifies. “But the primary goal is and has always been to create long-term value. So the aim will not be achieved in 12 months but rather over a period of three to five years.”
A very important desire for credibility for Liberty Media, which is not there to entertain but to develop Formula 1 into an even more attractive spectacle: « Liberty, to its credit, has a history as a long-term shareholder. They are invested and they know their business, as they have been in the field of media and entertainment. The goal is to invest and build for the long term.
As a result, Casey’s approach will remain cautious, and the man with the longest mustache in the paddock will watch his new toy in the coming months: « Realistically, what I will do in the coming months is probably listen to what people have to say and integrate all that. It’s a sport with a wide range of components, so it is important to understand each goal and what their stakes are. You can’t satisfy everyone all the time, but you need to understand what everyone wants and then find a path. »
Is Bernie Ecclestone’s dictatorial model coming to an end? Casey probably thinks so: « Of course, it’s not a task for a committee, committees tend to become bureaucratic. But it can’t be a dictatorship either, even if perhaps here they are used to it. »
