Major overhaul envisaged as Formula One starts new era
Liberty Media to modernise motor sport
London — The old ringmaster has gone, pushed aside by Formula One’s new American owners, and the marketers have moved in with a mission to overhaul the circus and give spectators a more modern show for their money. If an era ended in January with Bernie Ecclestone’s exit, following Liberty Media’s takeover, the Formula One season starting in Australia on March 26 marks a bright new dawn. The cars are faster, wider and more aggressive-looking with fatter tyres and revised aerodynamics but, backstage, more far-reaching changes are being mapped out to drive expansion. Sean Bratches and Ross Brawn have been appointed MDs for the commercial and sporting sides, respectively, under chairman Chase Carey, and sponsorship and research executives recruited. The sport is set to accelerate further away from the Ecclestone era, in which the 86-year-old controlled everything with a famous reluctance to delegate. "There will be a point in the season … where we start to effect change," Bratches said...
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