03/02/2017
NEWS STORY
Before Ferrari thinks of taking up Liberty on its share offer, president Sergio Marchionne wants clarity in terms of the company's plans for the sport beyond 2020.
When its initial offer of $1.1bn shares to the teams went begging, Liberty Media subsequently reduced the amount to $400m, and still we have yet to see a queue forming.
Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne is one of the first to speak of the matter and his opinion is surely one that will be echoed throughout the paddock. At present the teams are locked into a commercial agreement that binds them and the sport until 2020... but what then?
Despite the talk from Liberty Media, before and since its purchase of the sport, Marchionne wants to know what the sport's new owners are planning for the future, other than talk.
"We're in discussions with Liberty and I just recently had a meeting with Chase," revealed the Italian-Canadian in an investor conference call.
"The issue is not just the question of the financial investment," he admitted. "This is something that we do for a living in a very serious way. The Concorde Agreement expires in 2020, so becoming a non-voting shareholder in an entity, which would effectively keep us trapped in without knowledge of what 2021 and the later world will look like, is something I consider unwise.
"One of the things that I tabled with Chase is clarity on what the post-2020 world looks like, and what Ferrari may be able to get from its involvement in Formula One activities.
"Once we have clarity, then I think it becomes a lot easier to decide whether we want to participate in this venture.
"I think there's a huge amount of upside left in F1," he insisted, "which if properly managed, can deliver rewards for everybody who is an investor in this business. We need clarity and we're not there yet."
Of course, amongst its plans for the sport is a budget cap - a proposal that has almost driven Ferrari out of the sport before - together with plans to level the playing field in terms of prize money. Indeed, one proposal already mooted would be to withdraw Ferrari's so-called historic bonus and distribute it among those teams at the poorer end of the pitlane.
"There's going to be no changes to the contractual agreements until 2020 with F1 and Ferrari," said Marchionne. "The topic has not even been brought to the table, and I think it will be fairly unwise to raise it as a discussion topic."
While it is clear that there is still a long, long way to go before Ferrari and Liberty begin signing from the same hymn sheet, Marchionne believes the new owners can be good for the sport.
"What I expect, to be honest, is the sport itself to do better in 2017. And I think there would be a great basis for us to continue and to continue our commitment to Formula One, and to really set the basis for a post-2020 world.
"I would expect that Liberty and Chase, in particular, would have very clear understanding that the entertainment side of this needs to come back to play. We cannot keep on committing to a sport that has decreasing audiences for a variety of reasons. And so we need to re-popularize the sport and we need to make it more accessible."