Bernie Ecclestone’s reign as the chief executive of Formula One has been brought to a close, after he ran it virtually single-handedly for 40 years. The surprising speed of the decision is a clear signal of the intention of the new owners, Liberty Media, to change the way the sport is run. It represents the most significant shift in Formula One’s management since Ecclestone took over in the late 1970s.
Liberty completed its purchase of Formula One last week and although previously the stated aim had been to maintain Ecclestone for two to three years to facilitate a change in the structure at the top of the sport, the 86-year-old has now been replaced by Chase Carey, who had already been appointed chairman of F1 and will now also become chief executive. Ecclestone has been given the honorary position of chairman emeritus, as a source of advice for the new owners, but will not be part of the decision-making process.
The process was completed with the rapidity which Ecclestone often favoured when announcing F1 decisions, be they for new circuits or TV deals, but suggests that he had little say in the matter. A German publication reported he had said he had been “deposed” on Monday evening. “You will have to wait to see what the press release says: who did what to whom, how the decision was made. But I am not running the company any more,” he said.
Shortly afterwards Liberty confirmed the announcement, with a more unified front in which Ecclestone stated: “I’m proud of the business that I built over the last 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula One. I’m very pleased that the business has been acquired by Liberty and that it intends to invest in the future of F1. I am sure that Chase will execute his role in a way that will benefit the sport.”
While Carey is to take over as CEO, Ecclestone’s role, running both the commercial and the sporting sides which he had concentrated into his own hands, will be devolved. Sean Bratches, a former ESPN vice-president, will take over the former, while Ross Brawn will become the managing director of motor sports, a role that covers the latter.
Ecclestone’s highly personal running of the sport was well known and he has overseen a transformation that moved F1 from a sport beloved by aficionados to a global business worth a fortune and with a huge audience. The previous owners, the private equity firm CVC, which purchased it in 2006, had been happy to leave the day-to-day running in his hands, content with the vast sums it was earning. Ecclestone did so with aplomb: by 2003, the sport’s income was $729m, in 2015 it had risen to $1.8bn, a fact acknowledged by Carey.
“I would like to 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,” Carey said. “Bernie’s role as chairman emeritus befits his tremendous contribution to the sport and I am grateful for his continued insight and guidance as we build F1 for long-term success and the enjoyment of all those involved.”
However, the speed of Ecclestone’s removal is significant in that he has previously resisted tenaciously any curtailment of his power and is unlikely to have accepted easily the severing of a relationship that has been almost his life’s work. But Liberty had made it clear previously it intended to change the way F1 was run. A handover period had been expected due to the personal nature of so much of the business and with so much concentrated in Ecclestone’s hands but Liberty has acted swiftly.
While revenues from F1 have been huge, due to the price charged for hosting races and TV deals that Ecclestone negotiated, there has been a drop from 600 million to 400 million in global viewing figures since 2008.
A lack of interest in new social media and actively promoting the sport to a new audience have been repeatedly raised as criticisms against Ecclestone and Carey, 62, has made it clear Liberty’s aim is develop this side, for fans, teams and shareholders.
He has specifically referenced promotion and marketing as well as protecting classic tracks – increasingly at risk under Ecclestone, who favoured venues that could meet tens of millions of pounds in hosting fees. Liberty, a company whose portfolio includes Virgin Media, baseball’s Atlanta Braves and a large share of the Discovery Communications group, will doubtless be expecting F1 to make the same financial returns but publicly at least it is looking at different ways of going about it.
Success or failure in the short term will be judged against a yardstick created by the former chief executive. The task it has taken on is so substantial because of Ecclestone’s extraordinary skill in running the business of F1.
When he took over the sport had strong competitors in other formulas and commercially was still an almost amateur affair. He made it professional and profitable – a factor of huge importance, not least to the teams who have also been transformed – and made it a globally followed racing series without peer. The decision will be welcomed by his detractors, of which there are many, not least fans who disliked the chase for profit over a rich sporting history, especially in recent years, but replacing him and his personal fiefdom will be no easy task.
