Not for the first time in recent years, Formula One is bracing for a period of unrest that includes the threat of a breakaway series, as Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo outlined clearly on Friday. As rumours of a possible takeover bid from Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation refused to be extinguished, di Montezemolo made clear that the sport’s top teams would be open to anything from the end of next year.
“I think we have to be very pragmatic,” he told CNN during an interview on Friday. “At the end of 2012, the contracts of every single team with CVC will expire. So, we have three alternatives. “We can renew with CVC, or theoretically — as the basketball teams did in the U.S. with great success — we create our own company, like the NBA. Just to run the races, the TV rights and so on.
“And third, to find a different partner. Bernie Ecclestone did a very good job, but he has already sold out three times, so he doesn’t own the business anymore. It is CVC that will sell. It will be the teams’ decisions.” Reports of a liaison between News Corp and Italian investment group Exor, which has a close relationship with Ferrari parent company Fiat, has intensified speculation that suggests a breakaway series is likely.
Di Montezemolo explained: “At the end of 2012, the (Concorde Agreement) contract will expire, so theoretically CVC doesn’t own anything. I think it is important to have alternatives. We will see. We have time to do it.” In the same interview, Di Montezemolo also criticised the current state of Formula One and the introduction of too many ‘overtaking aids’ like adjustable rear wings.
“We have gone too far with artificial elements,” he said. “It’s like, if I push footballers to wear tennis shoes in the rain. “To have so many pit-stops!.. Listen, I want to see competition. I want to see cars on the track. I don’t want to see competition in the pits.”
