A busy race week in the industrial and passionate north of Italy concluded with more questions than answers in the competition for the 2016 drivers’ championship.
German Nico Rosberg secured a supreme victory over reigning world champion and Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who started the race on pole but fell to sixth place by the first corner after a calamitous start. Rosberg’s second win in as many races has produced a fascinating swing in what is fast becoming the most unpredictable world championship of recent years.
Despite Rosberg’s 15-second triumph, his English rival still holds a two-point advantage over in the drivers’ standings. All the same, an ebullient Rosberg said of the narrowing margin: “The race is on. It's always going to be a great battle and I look forward to what is to come.”
In with the new?
It is being reported that the unthinkable may be about to happen: that Bernie Ecclestone will cease to be in charge of Formula One.
Over the weekend, the Financial Times reported that US company Liberty Media Corp is nearing a deal to buy a significant stake in the global racing series. The newspaper reports that Liberty Media, whose chairman is US cable mogul John Malone, will buy a 10 to 15 per cent stake in Formula One’s parent company, Formula One Group, at a cost of between UK£1 billion (US$1.3 billion) and UK£2 billion (US$2.6 billion).
Further reports by the BBC, the Guardian and Germany’s Auto, Motor und Sport magazine suggest that that payment will be made this week and will effectively amount to a down-payment on a full takeover to be completed by the end of the year, at a cost to Malone and Liberty of UK£6.4 billion (US$8.5 billion).
Formula One Group is owned ultimately by Delta Topco, a Jersey-based company owned primarily by investment companies CVC Capital Partners, Waddell & Reed, and LBI Group. Chief executive Ecclestone holds 5.3 per cent and his Bambino Trust has a further 8.5 per cent.
As a result, it is expected that Liberty Media Corp will install the executive vice chairman of 21st Century Fox, Chase Carey, as the new chairman of Formula One. The American will replace Peter Brabeck-Letmathe who has chaired the sport for the last two years but is expected to remain on the board as a non-executive director.
Although a deal is said to be close, with reports suggesting an announcement is due on Wednesday, there are still many suspicious minds in Formula One that feel that this may be a smokescreen. There have been numerous occasions during the bulletproof Ecclestone’s 40-year reign at the top of Formula One where he has flirted with leaving, but somehow remained in charge. In spite of the uncertainty, one thing is for sure, that any deal would amount to a windfall for Ecclestone himself.
Out with the old…
In what many are calling the end of an era, two of the paddock’s most experienced and well-respected drivers – Jenson Button and Felipe Massa – will not be seen in Formula One cars next year.
Massa, a veteran of 243 starts and a point away from winning the 2008 world championship, announced his retirement on Wednesday. After the former Ferrari pilot’s farewell speech it was reported that the collected media all stood in a spontaneous round of applause; the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be his 250th and last race.
The 35-year-old Brazilian brings to an end his 15-year career at a time when the sport is turning to the bright young things: such the prodigious Max Verstappen, Kevin Magnussen and Massa’s potential replacement, Canadian teenager Lance Stroll.
2009 world champion Jenson Button was expected to take Massa’s drive at Williams but the Englishman revealed on Saturday that he has signed a two-year extension with McLaren. However, in a confusing twist, he will take a sabbatical for next year’s championship, with the Woking outfit having first option on him for a return in 2018.
The popular driver, famed for his laconic driving style, was keen to stress, “I definitely need a break.” And with replacement driver the Stoffel Vandoorne eager to impress, many believe that Button will follow Massa into the Formula One sunset. Furthermore, bookmakers have placed him at shortened-odds to join the presenting team on BBC car show Top Gear.
Monza stays but Imola miffed
After two years of negotiations – that were described by Ecclestone as “a little bit Italian” – an agreement has been reached for an extension of the hosting agreement between Formula One Management (FOM) and the Automobile Club of Italy (ACI), owner of the Italian Grand Prix circuit at Monza.
Although the deal is yet to be officially signed, Monza will continue to stage the Italian Grand Prix until at least 2019. According to Motorsport.com, the three-year deal will be worth €68 million.
“Regretfully we cannot sign it here legally,” said Ecclestone at the weekend. “More importantly, we have reached an agreement after a few months of negotiations between the lawyers. We are going through all the small details together and we will sign this back in England. The contract is only for three years, but I hope we will be here for another 100.”
The delay to signing off the deal appears to be coming from a protesting Imola, the San Marino track that FOM was courting when the race looked destined to be held away from Monza.
Officials at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari are taking legal action regarding the Italian government’s subsidising of the Monza deal. The verdict is due on 26th October for both the government funding issue and the legality of the new deal between the ACI and Formula One Management.