Yahoo Autos F1's New Owner Wants More U.S. Fans Without "Americanizing the Sport"
Liberty Media, an American mass media company, announced on Wednesday that it would be purchasing the Formula 1 racing series. Bernie Ecclestone, controller of the series, will stick around as F1's CEO for the foreseeable future to help guide its new owners to make Formula 1 even better.
In an interview with BBC Sport on Thursday with Ecclestone and new Chairman Chase Carey, both parties pointed towards growth potential in both the Americas and in Asia.
"America's an opportunity. I think we can do a lot more in America. It's probably more long-term than short-term," said Carey.
Carey was also quick to point out that while there are places to expand in America, Liberty Media didn't buy F1 solely for that reason.
"Realistically it's a global sport. We're not trying to Americanize the sport. I think we have great respect for the European foundations of it. Europe is critically important to us, to build on that, opportunities to grow it," he said.
"Certainly, the US is a big opportunity long-term, but this isn't an American company Americanizing the sport," Carey said. "This is a great global sport, a great franchise, and it's one we're going to continue to build with the things Bernie's built over the decades."
Both Ecclestone and Carey agreed that this purchase would be more evolutionary than revolutionary to the series.
"It is an evolution. This a great sport with great brands, great franchises, great stars, great technology. We want to make it everything it can be and continue to build it and work with Bernie to make it bigger and better," Carey said.
Historically, F1 hasn't had the popularity in the States that it enjoys in Europe. However, an American management team at the helm could sway potential fans in the right direction.
via NBC Sports
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