The F1 Beyond the Grid podcast has Chase Carey talk about 2020/2021 calendar, Stefano Domenicali, Ross Brawn, future, media and more.
Carey at first discussed, when probed by Beyond the Grid’s host Tom Clarkson, Lewis Hamilton’s growing win tally, as well as F1’s recent rounds at more historic venues. On the matter of whether or not the championship will return to these tracks, the American stated that the 2021 calendar will more likely look somewhat akin to that of 2019 and years prior.
On the topic of the first revision to 2020’s calendar, that being the cancellation of the Australian GP, Carey explained that he had boarded a flight on the Thursday prior to the weekend in Vietnam, only to disembark the aircraft hours later in a changed world, after sports leagues globally had called off events, and a COVID positive case had been found within the paddock.
The former media mogul detailed the emotions he and the Formula 1 executives navigated in that time period, also speaking on the toll it has taken on him on a personal level, with an unrecognizable schedule causing additional strain.
Addressing the recent news of his being succeeded by Stefano Domenicali, Carey also explained that his plan was always to build the foundations for a sustainable Formula 1, before passing off the baton to another person. The American stated that his intent was to step aside earlier, but that COVID derailed this plan, as it did many others.
The mustachioed F1 executive later would delve into what he considers the achievement in the past four years that he can be the proudest of, and in his answer he touched upon the signing of the Concorde Agreement. When pressed by Clarkson, he refused to go into detail on the discussions that went on behind the scenes in this process.
Similarly, as Carey refocused on Domenicali, detailing the effort that went into finding his successor, the 66-year-old did not reveal the other candidates they were reviewing. Forging ahead, he went on to speak about free-to-air TV versus that of the paid kind, and how to best strike a balance between various forms of media. He also covered F1’s other ventures in nontraditional media, including Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’.
After this, he spoke on the spectacle of F1 in 2020, with predictability a threat to its entertainment value. On one proposal to liven up the racing product, Carey asked that traditionalism and fear of alleged ‘gimmicks’ not become a roadblock, or a ‘straightjacket’ restricting F1 from pursuing an improved racing product, though he did caution against excessive change.
On this topic, he discussed the view of an F1 traditionalist in Ross Brawn, explaining that the Briton understands both sides of the argument, and later discussing the influence Brawn has had on his involvement in F1. Carey noted that the Brit helped him understand the inner details of the sport in many ways. He talks about the visit to 2016 Singapore GP and also a previous visit in Monaco when the first discussions on sale started.
This led to discussion of his initial experiences in the F1 paddock, how he was received by the ‘Piranha club’, as it was dubbed by Ron Dennis, and to what extent his prior experience with media giant Rupert Murdoch prepared him for the environment, it being one that is often considered vicious. Carey talks about sharing success which the sport lacked.
Carey disclosed that Fox had expressed some interest in the purchase of F1 in 2011 and 2012, though he did not say how thorough these discussions were. He added that Sky was also involved when Liberty Media tried to buy as well. He also spoke on his plans for the future, likely to involve golfing, he says.
Here is the link to the podcast as FOM prohibits embedding: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hdWRpb2Jvb20uY29tL2NoYW5uZWxzLzQ5NjQzMzkucnNz/episode/dGFnOmF1ZGlvYm9vbS5jb20sMjAyMC0xMC0xMzovcG9zdHMvNzcwNDg5OQ?hl=en-IN&ved=2ahUKEwiB55D9jLbsAhXJAnIKHRK_AZQQieUEegQIDRAF&ep=6
Here’s the last episode of F1 Nation
Here’s F1 Beyond The Grid Podcast having Sebastian Vettel