Ferrari's Power Play

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Home » F1 Blog » May 13 2011 at 13:02 | posted by Stuart McCann | 2 comments made so far - add one
Photo: Ferrari's Power Play

Ferrari's Power Play

Does Formula One ever take a break? Apparently, the gap between China and Turkey last week was too much to take. Talk of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation group taking over the reins from CVC certainly filled the void. Take it seriously though, particularly considering the rumoured involvement of Exor who own a large proportion of Fiat, who as you are no doubt aware, own Ferrari. Oh what a tangled web...

Ferrari are Formula One purists. They want the sport to be successful and to serve the interests of the Ferrari marque as well as possible. Ferrari have been vocal of late, concerned by the new engine regulations due in 2013. From a road car point of view a 1.6 litre, 4 cylinder, turbo-charged engine in, say, a Ferrari 458 would certainly be a departure from their current ethos. Frankly the thought of it doesn't set my pulse racing. Whilst I like the idea of their parent company holding influence over the sport's interests, I have to question whether their involvement at such a level is conducive to a political environment with the same state of equilibrium and consensus as there is currently.

In recent decades, there have been rumblings that the FIA treats Ferrari differently – very much along the lines of Orwell's Animal Farm, “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others”. These rumblings were, of course, always refuted by the FIA.. There were further misgivings on this at the time Jean Todt was elected as FIA President due to his previous role with the Prancing Horse. So far though, there is no evidence that Ferrari are favoured at all. One has to wonder whether these rumblings would resurface were Ferrari, through Fiat and Exor, to gain a greater position of influence such as that being rumoured.

Personally, I think Ferrari are smart and genuine enough to manage their relationship with the sport, their fellow competitors and the sport's management correctly. They will recognise that having such strong links between themselves and the people in charge requires care.

The other issue this takeover talk raises is the coverage of the sport. By all accounts, the chances of Formula One becoming entirely pay-per-view is minimal. The current Concorde Agreement apparently states that for it to happen, unanimous agreement is needed between the teams that pay-per-view is right for the sport. This looks unlikely. There is also supposedly a requirement in the Concorde Agreement that coverage remains free to air in major markets, but given the secrecy surrounding the agreement (not even the teams are allowed a copy), this is merely conjecture.

The agreement is due to be renewed in the next year, which may open the door for changes and with the BBC reviewing their desire to broadcast the sport, there are question marks over coverage in the UK already. For a shrewd operator like Rupert Murdoch, there are several 'ins' for him to explore. However, his previous experience of airing Formula One on pay-per-view in 2002 may dampen his enthusiasm. It didn't work out brilliantly, but the sport is different now and the world of TV has changed substantially since then as well, so he may well fancy another crack of the whip. If Max Mosley was still FIA President, there'd have been a pun or two for that last statement. I wonder if there's any scope in selling the TV rights to Ecclestone and Murdoch in negotiations?

I love the sport as it is now, it has a balance it lacked a few seasons ago. You don't hear much about teams falling out with one another, with the governing body or anyone else. Whilst politics undoubtedly make the wheels go round (besides engines and transmissions over race weekends), it is pleasant not reading or hearing about it everyday.

The sport should be about cars, drivers and teams, not members of boards and writers of increasingly labyrinthine regulations. Currently we have it more focused on cars, teams and drivers than we've had it since the sixties. The drivers may be the best we've ever had, there are famous teams racing at or close to the front, races that seem to get better by the weekend and (licence fee aside for British viewers) it doesn't cost anything to watch. Apart from some of the regulations being viewer-unfriendly, I don't think we've ever had it better as spectators and fans. Regardless of who runs the sport, it is imperative that things stay that way.

Stuart McCann is from IntentsGP.com:  For Silverstone or Spa, make your F1 Weekend Hassle Free - Camp with intentsGP!

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Recent comments on this article:

#1 ROCKY | 13 May 2011, 19:55 Reply »

Pay per view may be for Nascar a lot of action for F1 NO !

Not enough action.Exp: F1 if you start 1&2 &3 95% of races

will end the same order unless you make a mistake.Nascar racing by end of most races there will be 5 to 6 or may be more different leaders with a lot of actions. Not F1.

#2 MartyP | 15 May 2011, 08:34 Reply »

I totally agree that Formula One suffers when it's heavy with politics. Nicely said Stuart. Hopefully in this case, F1 fans will understand the relationships that exist between Ferrari, FIAT, and Exor are very complicated, and their part in any deal with News Corp is more complex than just “Ferrari taking over F1”.

I would imagine there is going to be a lot of political discussion in the F1 press until the new Concorde Agreement and new regulations come into effect in 2013.

On Rocky's point, Pay TV in Australia still has ad breaks so sadly it would make little difference here anyway. In addition to that, I would also suggest the last three F1 races have been jam packed full of action!

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