BERNIE ECCLESTONE’S ousting as Formula One supremo will take the sport in a different, digital direction under new American owners Liberty Media but there is much work to be done in the months and years ahead.

    “F1 has huge potential with multiple untapped opportunities,” said new chief executive Chase Carey after ending 86-year-old Ecclestone’s 40-year reign Monday. “We will work to enhance the racing experience and add new dimensions to the sport and we look forward to sharing these plans over time.”

    Ecclestone was given the title of “chairman emeritus.” Typically forthright, Ecclestone saw through the corporate smokescreen, saying bluntly, “I was dismissed today.”

    Carey, appointed Formula One chairman in September after serving as vice chairman of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, and Liberty Media’s chief executive Greg Maffei have both said there is a lot they want to do differently.

    Maffei has spoken of more races in Latin America, Asia and the United States while Carey has indicated that Liberty wants to safeguard the sport’s historic venues in Europe, ramp up marketing efforts and engage the fans more. There has been talk of treating every race like a Super Bowl, creating a buzz that extends far beyond the racetrack, but without “Americanizing” the sport’s fundamentals or alienating the purists.

    Liberty Media has plenty of experience and resources, with interests in the Atlanta Braves baseball team, satellite radio service Sirius XM, entertainment group Live Nation and minority interests in Time Warner and Viacom.

    Where Ecclestone’s business model was based on television rights and ever-increasing hosting fees that have left circuits with little chance of making a profit, Liberty has emphasized a shift towards sustainability and new revenue streams.

    Ecclestone was often at odds with the teams, adopting a divide and rule approach, while Carey has sounded more collegiate and inclusive with talk of cost controls and ensuring a fairer share of the spoils.

    (SD-Agencies)