Since Liberty Media took control of F1 in January last year it has made sweeping changes which have transformed the sport. However, the driving force behind them hasn't been clear. Until now.

Over the past year Liberty has given F1 a new logo, a ban on grid girls, an eSport series, a flashy new HQ, a theme tune and, most memorably, boxing announcer Michael Buffer who introduced the drivers at the United States Grand Prix.

Liberty insisted it was all in the best interests of the sport but Ferrari famously disagreed.

The Scuderia's chairman Sergio Marchionne warned that Ferrari will pull out of F1 if Liberty "change the sandbox to the point where it becomes an unrecognisable sandbox." Still Liberty's supporters were adamant that Liberty actually knows that F1 is all about selling racing but now we have proof that it doesn't and it comes straight from the horse's mouth.

Liberty's boss Greg Maffei is no stranger to making controversial comments. Just a few months after Liberty over F1 he said the Azerbaijan Grand Prix "does nothing to build the long-term brand and health of the business".

He subsequently described the amount paid by former F1 broadcaster NBC Sports as a "popcorn fart". The broadcaster dropped F1 months later, reportedly because it didn't want to compete with the new F1 TV streaming service - a Liberty initiative which got off to a somewhat spluttering start over the Barcelona weekend.

In light of these gaffes alone it's ironic that Maffei is the man who derided former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone for allegedly referring to race hosts as "victims". This time it is Maffei who has excelled himself and it will send chills down the spine of any F1 purist.

A report in Forbes by Christian Sylt quotes Maffei talking about the plans for a Grand Prix in Miami which is currently under discussion. "I think the Miami race is going to be great," he said. "Really good. Exciting. In city races are fun. In city races are exciting. Miami is absolutely the right kind of venue and the right kind of city. International, a great story around the sea and sand. So there will be a lot of good stuff. A hell of a party. Formula One is about selling glamour and parties."

Remarkably he was talking at a conference last week just two weeks before F1's most historic race, the Monaco Grand Prix.

The fact that some won't be surprised by his comments makes it all the more shocking and shows how much F1 has changed under its new owners. Over the course of the Barcelona weekend, the sport's commercial boss, Sean Bratches, gave his own thoughts on why F1 belongs in Miami.

"I don't know if there's a city on the planet that aligns with our brand more than Miami," he told Sky Sports. "We're both about celebrity, about glamour, about fashion. We're about art, we're about digital, technology. We both have great sporting histories, so we think it's a good brand alignment.

"We're trying to pivot Formula One from a motorsport company to a media and entertainment brand," he continued. "We're trying to be very much a fan first focussed entity, and what you're seeing today is some of the perspectives that we saw last year, and bringing some of our vision into form, so to speak.

"We're becoming a researched focus entity as well," he added. "We have sensors all around the Grand Prix which track people's wireless, determine footfall, to identify the best places to locate festival activities, merchandise tents, things of that nature. We work in the most technologically sophisticated sport on the planet so we're trying to conform some of our research in the same way."

Former supremo Bernie Ecclestone was open about the fact that F1 is competing with other forms of entertainment, and though he failed to keep up with the times, especially in terms of social media and the like, he knew that the core product he was selling as racing.

By contrast, Liberty has made it clear that F1 is about selling "glamour and parties" and the decisions it has made reflect that.

Time will tell whether the fans, teams, broadcasters and sponsors agree.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Paul C, 02/06/2018 19:05

"Greg Maffei's comments make me believe that F1 is on borrowed time with him once Formula E solves its battery endurance problem. No engine sound makes it easier for celebrities and upscale party fans to chatter while the race goes on. Why didn't Liberty buy Formula E if the race is just party decor?"

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2. Posted by mickl, 25/05/2018 1:52

""He subsequently described the amount paid by former F1 broadcaster NBC Sports as a "popcorn fart".".....so the answer to this is to give it away free then? Here we have business 101 for dummies....sorry..BY dummies."

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3. Posted by FQITW, 24/05/2018 7:36

""F1 is about selling glamour" that's why we banned Grid Girls..."

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4. Posted by Insane Reindeer, 24/05/2018 5:29

"Yes. This sounds exactly like the people who are going to give the fans unbelievable fast, single seat, race cars that overtake and dice wheel to wheel at every track all while producing 1200 bhp from a screaming loud V10! With, of course, the prospect of going to the local Mercedes dealership on Monday to buy a four door saloon with the exact same engine, all be it "de-tuned" to only make 800 bhp and only make enough noise to be heard two miles away as opposed to the six from the F1 car.

Not that any of this should come as any sort of surprise to us but, yeah, by 2022 F1 will just be the "World Championship of IndyCar". Pic´n´mix cars from two chassis and two, different, engine builders and one compound of not very aggressive set of slicks. "

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5. Posted by Spindoctor, 23/05/2018 14:59

"@ClarkwasaGod
I believe Richard Branson pulled-off a similar trick years ago with his airline.
I suspect Bernie is probably past it, but he sure dumped F1 at the "right" time for him."

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6. Posted by ClarkwasGod, 23/05/2018 14:43

"In the shipping world, where I have been for the past 40 odd years, the Greeks have excelled in the art of selling high, and buying low, even to the extent of selling their ships at the peak, and buying them back at the base of a trough. F1's present situation sounds rather familiar. I wonder, if/when Liberty's wholesale changes really take effect, and sponsors depart en masse, they will hurry to offload their liability, and a certain octogenarian will be waiting in the wings to buy it back, whether personally or with backing."

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7. Posted by Spindoctor, 23/05/2018 13:41

"@Agrajag - nicely put!

@TedS Sorry but not ALL big Sport has gone that way at all!
In the USofA it does appear that "Sport" is merely the peg upon which to hang lots of advertising and some "entertainment". Over here it is slightly different.

Our 'biggest' spectator Sport is undoubtedly Football, which attracts millions to the games, and millions more on TV. There is very little superfluous fluff, though its much glitzier than of yore. The World Cup unlike the "World Series" actually encompasses all the world's nations, will take place shortly and be watched by billions. Oh, and did I forget the Olympics?
We also have assorted sucessful Motor Sports, prime amongst which must be Moto GP, which attracts huge numbers to tracks World-wide, including the USA. This has even less flim-flam than F1, and is better for it.

I might argue that these events are popular specifically because they don't mainly feature parties and celebrities, but are intrinsically enthralling, involving and exciting, and require no artificial stimulants to be so....

Liberty's USA-centric notion of "Sport" simply does not apply, and although they may create a popular 'entertainment' out of the bones of F1, it will not (as adverised, anyway) be 'Sport', and will gain very little traction[sic] elsewhere in the World."

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8. Posted by TedS, 23/05/2018 13:20

"This is the way all sport has gone. Big productions, big drama. F1 is no different.

So long as they don't screw with the cars and the on track stuff I can ignore all the celebrity and glamour. "

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9. Posted by Lapps, 23/05/2018 10:03

"We have lost our Sport. The only possible recovery is for a couple of the big manufacturers todo what they threaten and set up a proper racing series.
Unlike in the past they have the (non-engineering) skills required. Come on Toto!
Before long a forthcoming GP will be advertised by who is headlining the concert, rather than anything to do with the racing or championship."

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10. Posted by Agrajag, 23/05/2018 9:43

"Looks like the brown stuff has hit the fans once again."

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11. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 23/05/2018 8:15

"You do get the feeling the TV audience and the on track activity are not top of the race weekend agenda."

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12. Posted by Ro, 23/05/2018 6:39

"Are this guy's middle initials A.H. ??? What planet is he on ?"

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13. Posted by JClark-Monza1967, 23/05/2018 0:57

"While these comments by Maffei and Bratches are very depressing, it even more telling that Chase Carey hasn't said a word in the last 2 weeks to clarify or contradict them.

OTOH, Liberty have done some things that have been promising: the F1 TV Pro streaming move is right-minded, even though it has been executed well yet. Also, I think the intention behind the short term rule changes for 2019 also show a promising attitude though of course how well it really will work, remains to be seen"

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14. Posted by perfesserbob, 23/05/2018 0:32

"So it's all parties and la-di-dah? I suspect it also has something to do with 100-hour work weeks by about 20,000 employees. Okay, so it's nice to see the big boats in the little harbor at Monaco, but I'd rather see what those 20,000 folks have been up to any day."

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15. Posted by Rob, 22/05/2018 22:48

"When the Bernie era is seen as the good old days, there is F.all future for F.one."

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F1 "is about selling glamour and parties", claims Liberty boss

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