Mosley: Active role by Liberty in F1 may create conflict with Bernie

Former FIA president and Formula 1 management veteran Max Mosley has urged Bernie Ecclestone and F1's new owners - Liberty Media - to work together to take the sport to the next level, and warns that a fallout between the two parties would be counter productive.

Speaking to BBC Mosley said, "These people may take a more active role and they want to sort of run the business but that could bring them into conflict with Bernie."

However he predicts that "it is much more likely there will be a collaboration."

Few people know Ecclestone as well Mosely. The pair worked together to overthrow the once all powerful FISA led in the eighties by autocrat Jean Marie Balestre and thereafter control Formula 1, turning it into to the global success that it now is.

"There has to be a succession sooner or later unless Bernie's immortal, which I don't think he is. So I guess this would be part of that process. But as far as the overall picture is concerned, I doubt very much that anything is going to change because they bring I would imagine certain sorts of expertise to the table."

"But Bernie on the other hand has this enormous big knowledge of F1 which they certainly won't have so they will need him. It is going to be very interesting to see what things they wish to do in addition to what has been done already."

Ecclestone's disdain for new media and related technologies is well known, he openly admits that he targets the 'Rolex brigade' and in doing so is not terribly interested in attracting a younger audience with what he believes to be less buying power.

On the other hand Liberty Media is plugged into social media and modern media technology, which they will no doubt unleash on F1 and leverage in the future.

Mosley knows Ecclestone stance on the likes of Twitter, Instagram and Faceook, "He is the first person to say he doesn't understand social media and he's not really into the digital age. On the other hand he is very good at keeping the whole structure going."

Already reports have emerged suggesting that there has been an early clash of personalities between Liberty Media head honcho John C. Malone and Ecclestone, but Mosley predicts that the 85 year old will in fact get on well with Chase Carey, the man Liberty Media has assigned to handle their F1 investment.

"If Chase Carey is a person of real ability and he wants to understand and he's clever, I think he'll get along fine with Bernie. Most of the people Bernie has not been able to get on with, it's because they are not up to the level at which he operates."

Liberty has a plan to offer teams Formula 1 shares, but Mosley does not think the concept is wise, "Every time that has happened in any other form of motorsport, it hasn't worked - you have examples of that in America".

"Really what you need (is) an independent body making and enforcing the rules and it is up to them to make it attractive to the teams on the one side and the spectacular on the other. So I think the teams having a say is wrong."

"And the big difficulty at the moment is that Bernie runs the commercial side of F1 and the sporting side is supposed to be run by the FIA."

"And from the outside - and I am not involved now - it would appear that the sporting side is not run quite as carefully and in such detail as perhaps it should be," added Mosley, taking a swipe at current FIA president Jean Todt and his hands-off approach to the sport.