F1 supremo Ecclestone, who has been in charge of the sport since 1978, did not disclose any details of the interested buyers although Stephen Ross – owner of National Football League side Miami Dolphins – is reportedly working with Qatari investors to buy a stake. F1 chief executive Ecclestone confirmed he would sell his own five per cent stake in the business as part of any deal, although he is likely to continue in his current role. Nobody wants to hear drivers getting told to “lift”, “coast” or “we’re not going to catch the guy in front, settle for second”. “The fact is there is no one else who could do the job as well”. I think Bernie is as frustrated with it as we all are.
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Regardless of the sale, a bigger question of fans is the location of future grand prix, not least the British one. In defense, Ecclestone said: “People say there is no overtaking, but from what we showed there was a hell of a lot of overtaking”.
In recent weeks tales of woe have emerged from Silverstone, where, despite a £3m profit in 2014, and a long-term contract to host an event which was previously permanently under threat, the powers that be say they can not afford to continue hosting the British Grand Prix. “Fans want to see gladiators racing and fighting it out in a fair fight”. How long is it before the technical director is stood on the top step, not the driver?
Bernie Ecclestone has said he expects Formula One to have new ownership by the end of the year and that three parties are now interested. It adds the initial revelation of takeover talks was “expected to flush out rival offers in the coming months… with a bidding war expected”.
“We are well along the way”, one member of the acquiring group noted.
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For fans, the big question remains how to restore excitement to a sport which has been dominated by Mercedes for two seasons, and in which big guns like Red Bull and McLaren have been left behind by the latest raft of rule changes. The Guardian says the results coincided with a meeting among top teams and the governing body, which was considering proposals from 2017 “to make the cars faster, louder, harder to drive and more aggressive-looking”.
