Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has said that the praise for reforms in Formula 1 can be put on the hat of former F1 boss Chase Carey.
Chase Carey looked after F1’s affairs from the start of 2017 to the end of last year, before passing the torch to Stefano Domenicali. The American has played an important role in the regulatory changes that will come into effect from 2022 and he guided the sport through the corona crisis.
A new rule that Carey has also pushed through is the budget cap that has been in place in Formula 1 since this year. That is something his predecessors have bit their teeth on for years and that is what Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei wants to reiterate put the paint on.
“Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley tried to implement a cost cap after the 2009 recession, but failed to do so,” Maffei said on a recent conference call with Wall Street analysts.
“We have succeeded. Stupid Americans, what do we know about the sport? We said we wanted to get it done and they laughed at us. Chase did it, all credit to Chase and his team. ”
“So Chase has done a great job, changing the tone, setting the sport in the right direction. And above all, the ‘Concorde Agreement’ with a cost limit. Chase remains our non executive chairman and that relationship is valuable. ”
It was Maffei who hired Carey to restore the sour relationship between the teams and Formula 1 and he is proud that he has succeeded.
“Chase did a great job. I sometimes feel guilty because I was the one who sold him the track and then he had to fly around the world and deal with unruly teams, ”added Maffei.
“And Chase was a fighter for the right thing, he made such good changes.”
Bernie Ecclestone built the product and deserves an incredible amount of credit. But there was no long-term vision. There was a very cranky relationship with organizers, F1 and ourselves, the rights holder. ”
“There was a very tense relationship between the teams and F1. That has changed completely and the atmosphere is so much better that we are together in this ecosystem and are building things. ”
“And Chase was able to negotiate a new ‘Concorde Agreement’, which is a great achievement compared to what has been done before,” concludes Maffei.
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