Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey says that long-term changes for the sport are the main priority for Liberty Media.
Once the takeover of the commercial rights was completed in January, Carey quickly put into place his management structure with Sean Bratches and Ross Brawn helping oversee the handling of the sport.
Carey admits the task at hand in developing the future of F1 is going to be tough, however, he remains optimistic as the pieces of their plans are continuing to take shape by putting together a clear and concise structure in place.
Speaking at the FIA Sport Conference in Geneva, Carey said: “One of the most tangible things we’ve done is put an organisation in place that can support the sport, and we’ll have the key people – not everybody, but the key people to be able to operate the sport and organise the sport.
“We hope probably by August to have most of the key people in – we’re moving to an office because we don’t have space right now. So we’ll move next month into an office that enables us to house the people we’re bringing in.
“So we’ll move next month into an office that enables us to house the people we’re bringing in.
“The sport didn’t have an organisation before. Bernie [Ecclestone], to his credit, was a one-man show with financial and legal support. We’re going to put support in place that if we’ve got to do 100 things, I’m not going to get 100 things done, so we need expertise.
“We’re going to put support in place that if we’ve got to do 100 things, I’m not going to get 100 things done, so we need expertise.
“We’ve got our first research studies back – there was no research before.
“We had to get that in place and now we’re starting to get the research and information that will help us make judgments. But thoughtful judgments as opposed to just seat-of-the-pants judgments for the sake of saying, ‘We did something.”
With Liberty’s takeover showing clear signs of change in all regards, Carey is keen to show they want to get their vision handled in the best possible manner and not in how quickly it can be completed.
Ensuring the sport continues to move forward in all areas with the fans in mind is the ultimate focus of Liberty’s intent to invest in the long-term future of F1.
“I’m not really interested in just doing things so we can say we did things, as opposed to doing things right and doing things thoughtfully,” Carey added.
“Everything may not be right, and to some degree, you need tools like research to help you make sure you’re making educated judgments, you’re making thoughtful judgments to get people in place to enable you to move forward.
“So we’ve got a sponsorship group, we’ve got television group, we’ve got a digital group, we’ve got a marketing group, we’ve got a PR group, we’ve got a research group – we’ve got people that are able to support and move the business forward in the way it needs to be moved forward.
“I think this sport has been underserved by a perpetual short-term deals-a-day focus and one that has lacked a strategy, vision and longer-term plan and a will to invest, to build it to what it can be. We think there is tremendous, right now, untapped potential in the sport.
“We think there is tremendous, right now, untapped potential in the sport.
“I think we can make the sport much more engaging for fans in every way possible. Whether it’s the sport on the track or the experience of an event or the experience on video screens and whatever ways they want to access it.
“I think we can make all of those things much better for fans and make it better for our partners, our sponsors, our promoters, our broadcasters in terms of how they then engage with those fans, given the initiatives we’ve got in place.”
