The takeover of Formula One has got everyone talking, but FIA president Jean Todt has warned against radical changes.
Formula One’s new owners Liberty Media Group have shook up the sport with former supremo Bernie Ecclestone no longer running the sport on a day-to-day basis.
American Chase Carey has become chairman and CEO, with Ross Brawn returning to the sport to oversee sporting and technical areas of the business.
The new owners appear determined to change the sport, with previous reports claiming additional Grand Prix to be added to the calendar, potential new engine regulations to bring in new manufacturers, shareholdings in the sport for competitors and new distribution of the prize money to teams to strengthen the grid.
At a Sports Business Summit in Dusseldorf, Todt told ESPN: ‘I think, for me, Formula One is great, The championship we enjoyed last year was a fight until the last corner. I think it would be the wrong message [to suggest F1 needs to be made much better].
He continued: ‘There are new regulations this year and the idea is to have cars with more downforce, to have cars wider, quicker. I don’t know what that will mean on track, but in my opinion we need to wait not for testing, which will start at the end of the month, but for the first race at the end of March in Melbourne.
‘There is a lot of expectation and I’m sure that Liberty Media will allow different access through different means of communication, which could probably encourage new fans to get into Formula One. Of course, we [the FIA] will sit as a regulator and legislator of Formula One, with the new people and with the teams to see what should be the vision for the future to make the sport better.’
Todt believes F1 doesn’t need changing
