FIA keen to work 'in close partnership' with new F1 owners

FIA president Jean Todt hopes to work "in close partnership" with the new owners of F1 - Liberty Media - to take the sport to new generations.

Liberty Media announced on Wednesday evening that it had agreed to purchase Delta Topco - Formula One's parent company - and will place Chase Carey alongside Bernie Ecclestone as the new chairman of the sport. The FIA holds a 1% stake in F1 but also has to approve any sale, which is one of the conditions of acquisition Liberty Media highlighted on Wednesday.

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With the FIA having not been involved in the sale negotiations, the governing body released a statement saying it "awaits further information regarding the proposed terms of the transaction and welcomes the opportunity to discuss with all parties the possible consequences of this agreement on the promotion of the FIA’s flagship championship."

Todt believes the new owners hold the right experience and expertise to be successful in developing F1 and says the FIA will look to work with Liberty Media to ensure the sport grows in future.

“While it remains to be seen how this acquisition will influence the promotion of the FIA Formula One championship, we welcome this long-term investment in Formula One by a company that has such a broad portfolio of sports, media and entertainment businesses," Todt said.

"As motor sport’s governing body and regulator we acknowledge Liberty Media’s wide expertise in these fields and we look forward to working in close partnership with them in the future in order to further develop Formula One and bring it to new generations of motor sport enthusiasts around the world.”

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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.