Ferrari is carefully analyzing “the possibility of purchasing a share” of Formula 1 and might be interested in further discussing this opportunity with Liberty Media Corporation, the American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone, which recently became Formula One’s new owner. The idea was suggested by Chairman and CEO of Ferrari, Sergio Marchionne, during a conference call with financial analysts on the 2016 accounts.
However, “it is not a financial issue” – Sergio Marchionne explained, as reported by Italian national sports newspaper Corriere dello Sport. The 64-year-old Italian-Canadian executive added that for the moment it would be “unwise” from Ferrari to make any moves without having a clear idea of what will happen after 2020, when the Concorde Agreement will expire. The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the Formula One teams and the Formula One Group which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and how the television revenues and prize money is divided. As this agreement regulates, among other things, the economic treatment between Formula 1 teams, there have been many rumors about what could happen after that moment. In an interview with German publication Auto und Sport, Bernie Ecclestone even suggested that Ferrari may choose to leave Formula 1 after 2020, but the information reported yesterday by Corriere dello Sport could indicate a totally different situation for the future of Formula 1 and Scuderia Ferrari.
