F1 should strike deal while iron is hot, says rights holders

MIAMI : Liberty Media, the commercial rights holders of Formula One, said on Friday that the time was right to draw up a new Concorde Agreement with FIA and the 10 teams with the sport riding a massive wave of popularity.

Liberty Media CEO and President Greg Maffei said stakeholders should come together, "strike while the iron is hot" and extend the current agreement that runs through 2025.

"I think there’s a consensus among the teams and the FIA and ourselves that now might be a good time to try and strike while the iron is hot," Maffei said during an investor call after the announcement of first-quarter earnings results.

"There’s certainly no obligation to do that and there’s certainly no risk if that doesn’t get done.

"As you may recall (the current agreement) we went right to the end and historically in many cases, the teams have operated without a Concorde agreement."

The confidential Concorde Agreement is named after the 1981 original that was negotiated at the Paris headquarters of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in the Place de la Concorde.

The deal with Liberty Media, the governing FIA and teams sets out the terms and commercial arrangements under which the teams race.

Team principals taking part in Friday's media conference between practice sessions at the Miami Grand Prix agreed that getting a deal done sooner rather than later was in everyone's best interest.

"I think longevity is in the best interest of everybody," said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. "We have a settled sport that has a clear direction for the future, of what its goals and objectives are together with the technical regulations and sporting regulations, financial regulations we want to develop for the future.

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