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F1 not afraid of risk with new races

F1 "not afraid of risk" with new races

09-08-2018 11:00
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Bobby Vincent

Formula One CEO Chase Carey says that they are "not afraid of risk" when it comes to adding new races to their calendar.

The Miami Grand Prix has now been postponed until 2020 will run on a risk-sharing initiative shared between F1 and local promoter South Florida Racing, rather than on the standard model of an event paying F1 a fee to host the grand prix.

This move has caused some controversy within the sport, with many promotes who have already committed to lucrative long-term traditional deals.

"Realistically, every race is unique," Carey told Autosport.

"I think each one we'd look at in specific terms. People don't realise that frequently these events have a lot more moving parts than just a fee, there are hospitality components, sponsorship components, other components around it.

"But you look at each on their merits. What are the direct economic benefits and certainties?

"We're not afraid of risk, if we believe there's an upside to the risk. We obviously can afford that.

"We like having our promoters have skin in the game, it's important to us for them to have that skin in the game and stand behind it.

"But if we think there are opportunities to have upsides both in the event itself, as well as upsides to us on a much broader level, we'd evaluate it on the merits. We're not going to turn the model upside down, but if the returns justify the risks, I think we'd look at it."