Ex-
Diageo CEO Paul Walsh "is being lined up to become chairman of the Formula One board," a move that could signal the "beginning of the end" of F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone’s control of the motorsport, according to Roger Blitz of the FINANCIAL TIMES. A board meeting "is being scheduled for early next week" to discuss Walsh replacing Nestlé Chair Peter Brabeck, who has been F1 board chairman for two years. CVC Capital Partners, the private equity group which owns 35.5% of F1, is thought to want Walsh to take on some exec duties "in addition to chairing the board." Ecclestone’s position as CEO "is not under immediate threat." But one person with knowledge of the situation said that if Walsh "is chosen to become a more hands-on F1 chairman," that could see Ecclestone’s role as CEO marginalized. Much "would depend on the relationship" between Walsh and Ecclestone (
FT, 12/3). In London, Kevin Eason wrote although Ecclestone, 84, has had the support of CVC in the past, he "is seen as an obstacle to change." In the past few weeks, "he has been forced to apologise to the three small teams for calling them 'beggars' and had the sport reeling after dismissing the youth audience as worthless because they could not afford to buy Rolex watches." Walsh, an accountant, worked his way up to becoming CEO of Diageo, "which owns a series of brands, including Johnnie Walker, the whisky company that sponsors McLaren." He was one of the longest-serving CEOs of a FTSE 100 company and "could be seen as a steadying influence on a sport that is suffering extreme turbulence." Speculation "has been growing that Ecclestone’s reign is drawing to an end." Close friends say that "he almost expects to be eased aside in the new year and he has surprised many in recent times with his inability to solve the sport’s financial crisis because he has had to refer to his bosses at CVC" (
LONDON TIMES, 12/4).
TAKING A SHOT: In a separate article, Blitz wrote CVC Capital Partners Founding Chair Donald Mackenzie "recently decided to gather Formula One’s great and good for a shooting party." It "was time to address the nagging question that has transfixed the sport for years." Who "would succeed" Ecclestone? People with knowledge of the meeting said that Mackenzie "made a frank admission at the dinner." It "had been a mistake not to reinforce F1 management and to tackle the succession issue sooner." His concerns "were not just about succession." He told the guests that F1 had notable gaps as a business -- "a poor digital strategy, and inadequate PR and TV revenues." Mackenzie is said to have remarked that "F1 is poorly managed." Mackenzie "left his audience in no doubt." New blood "was needed at Formula One Management," the F1 operating company that Ecclestone runs from Knightsbridge. Change "was coming" (FT, 12/4).
BIANCHI CRASH: In London, Daniel Johnson wrote F1 driver Jules Bianchi’s failure to slow down enough "has been blamed as the main cause of his horrific crash in the Japanese Grand Prix, the major investigation into his accident has found, as the commission of experts cleared the race officials of any wrongdoing." The 10-person panel said that Bianchi, 25, “did not slow sufficiently” under double yellow flags to avoid losing control and prevent his head-on collision with a recovery tractor at a speed of nearly 80mph. It also concluded that "an enclosed drivers’ cockpit or fitting skirts to the recovery tractor would not have mitigated his severe head injuries." The Frenchman remains in a “critical but stable” condition (TELEGRAPH, 12/3).
