Horner welcomes new shareholder of Formula 1
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is delighted with recent changes regarding the commercial right holders’ side of Formula 1. The Briton welcomes any fresh ideas which can improve the areas the sport has been struggling with recently.
It has been announced earlier this month that American media giant Liberty Media would take over the regime over F1 from earlier commercial right holders CVC Capitals. The Colorado-based group is a company with various media activities. Horner is buoyed not only by the company’s plans, but also by the fact that F1 would be led by a serious, huge company with rich expertise.
“I think with what we’ve heard so far it sounds very positive. They are obviously part of a very serious group and I can’t believe a company like Liberty would buy into Formula One at the value that it is rumoured to have been purchased at without having a long-term game plan and rather than having a venture capitalist or a financial institution buying into the sport."
The John Malone-led mass media company deals with different tasks. Its profile includes movie production, TV production, broadcasting, cable television and sport management. This wealth of experiences in media activities makes Horner encouraged to look into the future with high hopes. The Briton expects the new commercial right holders to have a serious look at F1’ recent weakness such the way it capitalized on social media, but also money distribution.
“I think it’s far better for the start that a company like Liberty has bought in and hopefully that will address some of the areas we have been weak in previously.”
The fact that Liberty Media is an American company also opens up new doors for Formula 1 as it hasn’t managed to conquer the American market yet.
“I think hopefully for the US market it could be a great thing and some of the other platforms like the digital and social platforms could also be very interesting. So I think we’ll wait to hear what their plans are in detail but everything we have heard so far has been very positive,” concluded Horner.
