The new F1 Boss

[Scott]

So far so good.  I like the guy.  He knows what to say and how to say it.  Hopefully that will follow through on deeds as well.

Bernie?  He'll be there for meet and greets for a while, but I don't expect to see him in 2017 once they start NOT asking his permission to do things.

And Chase has a moustache almost on par with Mercedes Dieter Zetsche. 

http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/37406460

A more in depth interview is here, though it's a wee bit soft since it is employees asking the boss questions.  (laughs) - really?  Do we need to know that he laughed at the question?  Probably not.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/interviews/2016/9/building-for-the-future---exclusive-q-a-with-chase-carey.html

[cosworth151]

I'm getting the exact opposite vibe off of him. I haven't seen that he has any background in racing.

"Formula 1 is a great premium brand and that means to me that you want to be at a location like Los Angeles, New York or Miami. Ideally in the great cities in the world."

Goodbye, Monza. Hello, boring street race in Rome. Goodbye, Silverstone. Hello, London. Goodbye, great racing circuits. Hello, pretty buildings in the background. I've already read stories that they might try to revive the idea of a race around the Newark, New Jersey sewage treatment plant.

Don't forget, he's a henchman of Rupert Murdoch, a guy who makes Bernie look like Mother Theresa.

[Scott]

But has he actually made any announcements like that, or are you basing it on a Fox like reputation?

[Alianora La Canta]

With a quote like the one cos gave, I think our new leader has mistaken F1 with Formula E (his sister company's motorsport possession)...

[Scott]

Uh-oh, Liberty seems to think they bought a casino...

No seriously, I am not completely against some of the ideas brought up.  Although I have always thought PPV is a bad idea, I wish F1 would sort out the digital broadcasts.  I have also always said I would be ok with paying a couple or a few bucks to watch a race, and maybe a few more for some content unavailable anywhere else (more behind the scenes would have some value for my money), I think Liberty recognizes that they are capturing enough content to create many more streams (literally). 

http://www.pitpass.com/57331/Liberty-eyeing-gambling-as-one-future-growth-area-for-F1

[cosworth151]

Now we know. Singapore was his first ever F1 race.

http://autoweek.com/article/formula-one/10-things-we-know-about-new-f1-chairman-chase-carey

[Steve A.]

I really hope it doesn't turn into a series of city races, that would be the end for me. I can't imagine it adding anything at all to the spectacle. Fingers crossed that racing circuits survive.

[Jericoke]

Uh-oh, Liberty seems to think they bought a casino...

No seriously, I am not completely against some of the ideas brought up.  Although I have always thought PPV is a bad idea, I wish F1 would sort out the digital broadcasts.  I have also always said I would be ok with paying a couple or a few bucks to watch a race, and maybe a few more for some content unavailable anywhere else (more behind the scenes would have some value for my money), I think Liberty recognizes that they are capturing enough content to create many more streams (literally). 

http://www.pitpass.com/57331/Liberty-eyeing-gambling-as-one-future-growth-area-for-F1

It's interesting that he seems happy to be spitballing ideas in public instead of doing everything behind closed doors.  The easiest way to make money is to target American dollars.  Both Indy and Austin have shown plenty of support, even if most Americans aren't interested, there are plenty who are.

I also think Miami would be a great fit for F1.  Better than New York City.  I know Homestead is an oval, but I don't see why they can't build out an Indy style road coarse.

As for gambling... it happens, and F1 is silly not to get a piece of it.  In Canada the major sports have deals with government sponsored gambling.  F1 needs to create similar deals.  Easy money without touching PPV, sponsors or extorting street races.

[Scott]

Now we know. Singapore was his first ever F1 race.

http://autoweek.com/article/formula-one/10-things-we-know-about-new-f1-chairman-chase-carey

That is a bit funny.  Not that he should have strutted around while they were considering a buy-in, but he could have shown up as a rep of Sky TV or Fox Sports just to see how things are run.  Singapore is kind of the Disney of F1, so he sure could have chosen more carefully.

[cosworth151]

Miami already has the most fabled road course in North America a short drive away. The track that hosted the first non-oval U.S.G.P. - Sebring. If they did have two USGP's, it would be the obvious choice after Indy.

[Jericoke]

Miami already has the most fabled road course in North America a short drive away. The track that hosted the first non-oval U.S.G.P. - Sebring. If they did have two USGP's, it would be the obvious choice after Indy.

It's a three hour drive...  obviously Sebring would be a great place to race, but if you want to be near 'the beautiful people', Homestead is a better location.

If we're just going to Florida but outside Miami, I'd suggest building a road track at Disney.  If the goal is getting Americans into F1, surely the people behind Frozen, The Avengers, ESPN, Star Wars and Mickey Mouse would be the ones to ask.

[cosworth151]

It's supposed to be about the racing. I really don't care a farthing or a fig about the "beautiful people," the pretty buildings or the celebs du jour that I've never heard of anyway.

IMSA used to have a street race in Miami back in the GTP days of the 80's. Pretty building & otherwise great race cars playing follow the leader through a boring circuit. They did get a good Miami Vice episode out of it.

[Jericoke]

It's supposed to be about the racing. I really don't care a farthing or a fig about the "beautiful people," the pretty buildings or the celebs du jour that I've never heard of anyway.

IMSA used to have a street race in Miami back in the GTP days of the 80's. Pretty building & otherwise great race cars playing follow the leader through a boring circuit. They did get a good Miami Vice episode out of it.

They're not trying to attract us to F1.  They've already got us.  As long as they don't screw it up.

They're trying to attract new fans, they're going to have to try something new, and going to where people are makes more sense than going where people aren't.

[cosworth151]

F1 has been moving races from real racing circuits to chic, "in" locations for the past couple of decades.  It's been a miserable failure. The sport has been hemorrhaging fans. The TV audience has plummeted by a third in the last eight years. That's 200 million viewers gone.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/04/20/f1-has-lost-one-third-of-its-tv-audience-since-2008/

They may take us for granted, but they don't have us. We're leaving in droves.

F1 needs to return to being F1 - The best drivers racing in the best cars on the best circuits. Trying to turn it into Formula E's big brother isn't going to do it.

[Jericoke]

F1 has been moving races from real racing circuits to chic, "in" locations for the past couple of decades.  It's been a miserable failure. The sport has been hemorrhaging fans. The TV audience has plummeted by a third in the last eight years. That's 200 million viewers gone.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/04/20/f1-has-lost-one-third-of-its-tv-audience-since-2008/

They may take us for granted, but they don't have us. We're leaving in droves.

F1 needs to return to being F1 - The best drivers racing in the best cars on the best circuits. Trying to turn it into Formula E's big brother isn't going to do it.

People come for the sizzle, they stay for the steak.  It's true that F1 has been focusing on the sizzle far too much.