Carey: Long term value not a short-term buck

Speaking after figures revealed that the money kitty from which teams are paid annually (in terms of the existing Concorde Agreement) will be short $47-million in 2017 compared to what they received in 2016, the final year of the autocratic Bernie Ecclestone era.

Carey explained how the relatively new organisation is evolving and with it comes appropriate staffing for future needs, "We've settled into our new London headquarters. With headcount currently around 120, expecting to settle around 150 by mid-to-late 2018."

This is a far cry from the one-man show (plus a few minions) that characterised the 'workforce' of the Ecclestone era. The new Liberty Media staffing acquisition has invariably impacted on profits.

Carey explained, "Overall we expect the associated incremental step-up in overhead to be $50-million annually compared to 2016, excluding marketing and development expense tied largely to new initiatives."

The moustachioed new F1 supremo added, "A year ago we had over $4-billion in external gross debt, and today we're at $3.2-billion, with approximately $115-million in annualised interest savings and an improved tax structure. We also eliminated the potential overhang in prior share sales from prior F1 owners."

Carey and his team are enthused by the support they have received from the sport's major players and commercial partners, "We were positively surprised by the excitement from existing partners to expand and grow their relationships with us, and the level of interest from new commercial sponsors."

"There's real enthusiasm from new potential sponsors, promoters and video entities to engage with F1. Many of these will take time to develop in the right way, and our priority again is building long-term value, not a short-term buck," added Carey.