F1 aiming to simplify ‘very cumbersome’ governance for 2021

Formula 1 CEO and chairman Chase Carey says the sport is eager to resolve the “very cumbersome” governance structure that is currently in place under the planned changes for the 2021 season.

F1 teams will vote today on the proposed changes to the technical and sporting regulations for 2021, with discussions regarding commercial and governance agreements set to continue as no deadline has been set.

The existing F1 governance structure involves a number of bodies, with changes requiring approval from the F1 Strategy Group – made up of six teams, the FIA and the commercial rights holder - before advancing to the F1 Commission that includes wider stakeholders such as race promoters.

Regulatory changes must then be approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council, with unanimous agreement required in some areas.

Speaking in a Liberty Media investor call on Wednesday, Carey remained coy when asked about the planned changes to the governance structure, but said there was a need to simplify it.

“I don’t want to get into the specifics of what we proposed to the teams. But I think the primary goal is to simply the governing structure,” Carey said.

“I think today we feel we have a very cumbersome governance structure, there are two layers of approval, some very complicated votes, and a lot of different parties that get involved.

“So I think if there is one goal overriding overall in all of this, it’s a complicated enough sport with enough complicated issues already, is to simplify the decision-making structure so we can move forward and not have the type of dynamics we’ve had to some degree in the past.”

Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei questioned the power held by some of the bodies, and said there had been broad agreement of a need to change the existing process.

“There are many, many formal structures, and a lot of them aren’t really very powerful, they’re just noise factors,” Maffei said.

“I think what Chase and his team have done a good job of changing is trying to move it away from these structures - where you have more representation, but Liberty has an outright right to outvote you, it’s like why does this exist? - to dialogue which is much more open and constructive about how we move the sport forward together.

“I think that’s been very positive and given a lot of people confidence that these somewhat big structures are not the right method to build a relationship and build the sport together.”