Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that he is planning to launch
a masters series for former Formula One drivers following the concept which has
been made popular by sports such as golf and tennis.
It would see superstar drivers such as Nigel Mansell and
Nelson Piquet return to racing and has already been endorsed by several of the
leading lights from yesteryear. They include Ferrari race-winner Gerhard Berger
who says “I am sure that it will be successful and that all former drivers
would like to participate.”
The series could see a return of
the deafening V10 engines from the 1990s compared to the V6s which have been
introduced to F1 this year and have been criticised for being too quiet. One of
the fiercest critics has been Mr Ecclestone and he revealed the plans for the
masters series to the Wall Street Journal.
“A series with former drivers is a good idea,” says Mr
Ecclestone. “We have talked about it and it is something we ought to do. Many
of these old drivers are still absolutely good enough. You would put them in
the cars they used to drive.”
Former driver Martin Brundle, who is now a television
pundit, says “whatever the format I’d want to be part of it especially if it
was supporting the F1 calendar.” Eddie Irvine, who almost won the F1 title in
1999, admits that “it’s not for me personally” but adds “I think the fans would
love it and some drivers too.”
Mr Ecclestone’s interest was revealed by a European
trademark application which was filed in February by Formula One Licensing to
protect the name ‘Historic Formula One’. The application is specifically in the
category covering sporting events which is an important step in the preparation
of a race series as it gives ownership to the name.
It is often possible to find out about the launch of a new
racing series by checking the trademark register because an application for its
name usually has to be made in advance of it being officially announced. In
September 2008 the London Evening Standard newspaper revealed that
F1 would launch a grass roots racing series called GP3. The following month GP3
was officiallyannounced and it took its place underneath F1’s junior
series GP2.
A masters series would complete the ladder as it would give
a home to drivers who want to continue racing but are no longer up to F1
standards. It would also boost F1’s revenue which would please CVC, the private
equity firm which controls the race series through its parent company Delta
Topco.
Although there is no equivalent in F1, there is a series
called Masters Historic Racing which allows the owners of classic F1 cars to
compete against each other. They visit ten historic tracks including Britain’s
Silverstone circuit, Spa in Belgium and Germany’s historic Nürburgring. Its
championship is known as the ‘Historic Formula One Championship’ and F1
licenses the name to it.
“Historic Formula One is us,” says Mr Ecclestone. “We
license them to use the name.” As the license is under Mr Ecclestone’s control
he could use it for his series once the agreement with Masters Historic Racing
comes to an end.
It would be a different championship as Mr Ecclestone says
“they have got different drivers, they have got people who bought these old
cars. They have not got people like Mansell and Piquet driving but my idea
would be to use them.”
A similar racing series, known as Grand Prix Masters, was
launched in 2005 and featured ex-F1 drivers over the age of 40, competing
against each other in modern 3.5-liter single-seater cars. It held three races
– in South Africa, Qatar and at Silverstone, which was won by American driver
Eddie Cheever. The series was shut down in 2007 after failing to pay its bills.
As F1 is the world’s wealthiest form of motor racing it is unlikely that its
masters series would share the same fate.
Brundle adds that “a well structured F1 masters series would
be very popular with drivers and fans, and therefore TV and new media channels
and sponsors too. In any event I’d want to drive cars that some others enjoyed
back then. To attract the household names of decades past I suspect the cars
would need to be safer and less physical to drive.”
Britain’s 1996 world champion Damon Hill added that it
“sounds interesting. However, the problem is risk. I think most old drivers
want to get home to bed early with a good book.” The spectacle on track
promises to be a lot more interesting than that.
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