LONDON (Brand Republic) – Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula 1 motor racing empire could be facing collapse following a green-light from motor sport boss Max Mosley for a breakaway series formed by top car manufacturers.
Ecclestone alienated Fiat, Renault, BMW, Mercedes and Ford by selling 50% of his stake in F1’s television rights to German media group Kirch and EM.TV. This was sanctioned by Germany’s version of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission yesterday, despite concerns that Kirch will damage the sport by introducing pay-per-view.
A rival series to F1 set up by the car bosses, created to ensure free-to-air broadcasts and global audiences of 350m, would seriously threaten Ecclestone as they monopolise the top teams and drivers.
As president of the FIA, motor racing’s governing body, Mosley said it was part of an undertaking to the EU that other series could run their own championships, so there was nothing to stop car manufacturers teaming up and doing so.
Urgent talks are expected to take place in the next few days, with Ecclestone attempting to broker a new deal where the carmakers can buy either into Kirch or his own SLEC trust, and so prevent them forming a rival series.