Even though he sold the commercial rights to Formula 1 to Liberty Media, Bernie Ecclestone still finds a way to get in the news.
This time, Ecclestone called on Liberty Media to lower the fees for F1 race promoters because there is fear that races could go away if it costs too much for a promoter to pay, especially if that nation’s government is footing the bill. This has been the case with Malaysia pulling out of Formula 1 this year as well as reports that Singapore, an event that’s been very popular over the past decade, may exit the series.
While Ecclestone isn’t necessarily wrong, let me point out the irony that Bernie is saying this now and how it’s funny/sad.
One, every track (except Monaco) pays a fee to host a Formula 1 race. This figure varies based on what kind of deal is negotiated with Formula 1 and the promoter but a general average is about $25 million per race. This means Formula 1, and those who own the commercial rights to Formula 1, would get paid around $475 million this season. Ecclestone owned those rights until late 2016 where he sold it to Liberty Media. Then in January, Liberty Media released Ecclestone as CEO. So Ecclestone isn’t receiving that money anymore and now has “seen the light” and suddenly realized the fee should be lowered.
Two, Ecclestone is in negotiation to buy the Autódromo José Carlos Pace or Interlagos Circuit in São Paulo, Brazil, which currently hosts the Brazilian Grand Prix. If the deal goes through, Ecclestone will be on the other end of the negotiating table than he had been for the past couple decades that now he’s come to defend the promoter against the behemoth that he actually created.
Ecclestone’s argument for how his situation was different than Liberty Media’s current situation because “It appears that it’s not [Liberty’s] prime objective, to make money. Their objective is to please the fans, which is good.”
Bernie’s right about one thing, he surely didn’t care about the fans when he was in charge of Formula 1. Just watch the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix among many other things he was partly or completely responsible for and you’ll see what I mean.
It’s unclear what Liberty Media’s next move is when it comes to filling out future schedules but one thing that is for certain is that they won’t be listening to Bernie Ecclestone. They showed that they were at least that smart when they fired him a few months ago and I’m pretty sure they aren’t taking his advice now.
