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Button backs new ownership as good for F1's future

Jenson Button says new ownership of F1 is going to be good for the sport's future as it will attract a younger fan base.

On Wednesday evening Liberty Media announced it has agreed to purchase Formula One in a deal valuing the sport at $8bn (£6bn). The US company has a wide-ranging portfolio and is expected to increase the sport's profile in America as well as focusing on enhancing the "distribution of content, especially in digital".

CONFRIMED: Liberty Media agrees to purchase F1

Button - who will not race in F1 in 2017 - says the new ownership working alongside exiting CEO Bernie Ecclestone will prove to be good for the sport.

"I agree with Bernie that that is probably not his strong point, I don't think he understands apps on phones so he has a lot to learn and I'm sure he will," Button told Sky Sports News.

"This will definitely help the future of the sport, most sports are going down a certain directions with apps and Formula 1 is behind in that area and getting out to a younger audience.

"At the moment our audience is people that watched me start in Formula 1 and they are still watching Formula 1. We don't really have a young audience at the moment.

"So we need help in that area and that is the way the sport will grow worldwide and not just in the countries where it is strongest, like the UK and Japan and other countries in Europe."

And Button says it was important for Ecclestone to stay involved in the running of the sport, though he hopes it will see progress in America.

"I think the continuity of Bernie being in charge day to day is exactly what it needs. He's got quite a lot of experience of working in Formula 1 and directing the sport in the right way.

"The funny thing is that the States is probably the only place that has been difficult for Formula 1 to break into over the years. We have the Austin grand prix, which to be fair is always a full house, but that is one small race for the size of America. So hopefully this is going to help the sport break into the States."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.