Ecclestone was holding Formula One back

New Formula One CEO Chase Carey believes that former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was holding the sport back in recent years.

86-year-old Ecclestone lost his near dictatorship grip on Formula One during the winter following the sale of the sport to American firm Liberty Media.

Their purchase of the sport saw former Ferrari and Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn return to the sport as ‘motorsport managing director’ alongside CEO Chase Carey and commercial boss Sean Bratches.

The trio are looking to expand and build Formula One into a bigger sport than it already is and Carey believes he can do that by using commercial avenues that Ecclestone was not using to their full potential.

He also believes that a longer term vision for Formula One will also improve the sport, rather than the short-term vision that he believes Ecclestone worked under.

?There are an array of things that weren’t done that needed to be done. We felt it was a sport that for the last five or six years had really not been managed to its full potential or taken advantage of what was here.

?All of us make mistakes and nobody is perfect. Bernie took a business from decades ago and sold it for eight billion dollars. He deserves all the credit in the world for what he has done. But in today’s world you need to market a sport. We were not marketing the sport.? he told Press Association as quoted by motorsport.com.

?It has been three months and we have been very clear that one of the things the sport has not been served well by is a continued short-term focus, and what we are going to do next week,? added Carey.

?We care more about where the sport is going to be three years from now than three months from now. Bernie was always very focused on the short term, and our focus is on building long-term value.

?Some of the decisions that were made needed to have a better process to think through. The current engine, for example, ended up being too complicated, too expensive, and lost some of the sound that added to the mystique of the sport.

?We will do things and some things take time.