Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that "he has lost his position as the CEO of the Formula 1 Group, and has been replaced by Liberty Media's Chase Carey," according to Adam Cooper of MOTORSPORT. Ecclestone, 86, said that he has been offered the title of "Honorary President," but acknowledged that he does not know "exactly what his role will be." It is understood the change "will be formally announced on Tuesday," along with the appointments of Ross Brawn and former ESPN exec Sean Bratches, "who will take up newly created sporting and commercial roles," respectively. Ecclestone said, "I was deposed today. I am simply gone. It's official. I am no longer the leader of the company. My position has been taken by Chase Carey." Asked about his future, he said, "My days in the office will be getting quieter now. Maybe I will attend a grand prix sometime in the future." Ecclestone added that he does not "expect to retain his seat on the FIA World Motor Sport Council." Asked if he would "remain involved," Ecclestone said, "I doubt it. First of all, I have to talk to [FIA President] Jean Todt about this" (MOTORSPORT, 1/23).
HARD ACT TO FOLLOW: MOTORSPORT's Charles Bradley wrote McLaren Exec Dir Zak Brown "has paid tribute" to Ecclestone’s “enormous contribution” to the sport, but believes new owners Liberty Media can take F1 forward. He said, "Formula 1 wouldn’t be the international sporting powerhouse that it is today without the truly enormous contribution made over the past half-century by Bernie Ecclestone. Indeed, I can’t think of a single other person who has had anything like as much influence on building a global sport as he has." He added, "Bernie will be a very hard act to follow, but he’s created a fantastic springboard from which Chase Carey and his Liberty Media colleagues will be able to take Formula 1 forward and make it even bigger and even better. And we at McLaren will be eager to help them. ... Over the next decade, I expect the way Formula 1 is run will become both freer and more fan-friendly, and as such we can expect to see new generations of Formula 1 devotees recruited and delighted via the proactive embracing of digital and social media, gaming etc" (MOTORSPORT, 1/23).
A DONE DEAL: In London, Giles Richards reported Liberty Media "confirmed" that its £6B ($7.52B) takeover "has been completed." In a statement released by Liberty Media, Ecclestone said, “I’m proud of the business that I built over the last 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula One, and would like to thank all of the promoters, teams, sponsors and television companies that I have worked with." Carey said, “I am excited to be taking on the additional role of CEO. F1 has huge potential with multiple untapped opportunities. I have enjoyed hearing from the fans, teams, FIA, promoters and sponsors on their ideas and hopes for the sport. We will work with all of these partners to enhance the racing experience and add new dimensions to the sport and we look forward to sharing these plans over time. I would like to recognize and thank Bernie for his leadership over the decades. The sport is what it is today because of him and the talented team of executives he has led, and he will always be part of the F1 family." Liberty, run by the 75-year-old American John Malone, is keen to expand F1 in the U.S., "improve the sport’s reach on social media, while safeguarding the future of its traditional venues." Liberty’s portfolio includes Virgin Media and the MLB Atlanta Braves. It also holds a large share of the Discovery Communications group (GUARDIAN, 1/23).
