CVC sells half-a-billion dollars worth of its stake in F1

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: CVC sells a $500 million share of their stake in Formula 1.

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Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

CVC sells further $500 million Formula 1 stake (Autosport)

"CVC has sold a further $500 million stake in Formula 1, almost a month after announcing a 21 per cent sale to a trio of investors for a total investment of $1.6 billion. The sale also comes just 16 days after Bernie Ecclestone confirmed in Canada that the planned flotation on the Singapore Stock Exchange would be postponed in the wake of ongoing market unrest."

Banker in F1 case talks with prosecutors (Financial Times)

"The German banker at the centre of bribery charges involving Formula One motor racing is holding talks with prosecutors that could pave the way for a conclusion of the case. Gerhard Gribkowsky is accused of receiving bribes from Bernie Ecclestone, F1 chief executive, when the banker helped put together a deal to sell it in 2005."

Kimi targets Valencia success (Sky)

Kimi Raikkonen: "Qualifying is going to be very, very important again here. Obviously, there will be an advantage to starting on the clean side of the track as the streets are only used as a circuit once each year. It’s not an easy place to overtake and we’ll have to see how much help the DRS will be."

Keeping Formula 1 costs down (BBC)

"If you have one team operating on, say, £50m (about the budget of HRT or Marussia, for example) and one on £250m (a decent guess at a top-team budget), where do you cap the budget? It’s as hard for the small teams to find £50m as it is the big teams £250m. If you make the budget cap £150m, the small team still can’t find that much money, and it actually becomes harder for them to find the money it had before."

F1: High Demand For US Grand Prix Tickets (SPEED)

"Tickets for the first US Grand Prix in Austin later this year appear to be selling exceedingly well. The local American Statesman newspaper is reporting that the Circuit of The Americas organization is considering adding more grandstands due to the unexpectedly high demand. “We have experienced incredible demand for reserved grandstand seating tickets, and customers have quickly purchased our available inventory,” public relations vice president Julie Loignon confirmed."

Brundle rolls back the years for Le Mans as F1 pundit teams up with son for blue-riband race (Daily Mail)

Martin Brundle: "And then it all came back to me. You get in the groove and you start flowing and attacking and my pace has been great. I feel like I was in the late 90s in the Toyota when I stuck it on pole. If you go into a breaking zone at 200 mph the car starts to slide and if you grit your teeth and press on you’ve still got it. But if you say “I didn’t like the feel of that, I’m going in the pits” then you might as well stop. But I haven’t got that feeling."

Track Guide: Sandown (Stephen Jones Racing)

F1Fanatic and current Collantine Cup champion Stephen Jones (aka, iamsa8) is also a Formula Vee driver in Australia and has produced this interesting track guide for the Sandown Raceway in Victoria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCjiUS8QL54

Comment of the day

Following the news that the Interlagos pitlane is to be moved, seanus laments the many changes to F1’s classic circuits.

So yet another ‘classic’ track is going to change. I totally understand the need to meet the required safety levels and keep up with the times but I still find it a shame that from this years calender only Melbourne, Montreal, Suzuka and Interlagos remain the same as they were when I first started watching F1.

The maintaining of standards in F1 seems to be like painting the Forth rail bridge. Once one circuit makes improvements it puts pressure on others to improve theirs. For years it was always Silverstone that needed to improve or lose their position on the calender, now it seems to be Interlagos. So I’m wondering who will be next once Interlagos make their improvements?

Im intrigued to see how moving the start/finish straight will effect the first corner of the race, turn 4 is a tricky corner to get right and will become harder when 24 cars go at it at once.
seanus

From the forum

Reacting to the tragic news of the death of IRC co-driver Gareth Roberts, killed yesterday at the Targo Florio.

Congratulations to Olliekart for winning the 2012 F1F GT5 Le Mans 24 Laps! Congratulations to damonsmedley and iamsa8 for organising another successful event too.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Beninlux, JonathanProc and Vikenbauer!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Jim Clark scored his first world championship Grand Prix win today in 1962.

An article on that race will appear here later today.

Author information

Will Wood
Will has been a RaceFans contributor since 2012 during which time he has covered F1 test sessions, launch events and interviewed drivers. He mainly...

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68 comments on “CVC sells half-a-billion dollars worth of its stake in F1”

  1. That’s both Toyota’s out the 24hr now. :(

  2. suzuka isnt the same from when i started watching, 130R isnt what it used to be. now that was a corner for men!

  3. F1Fanatic and current Collantine Cup champion Stephen Jones (aka, iamsa8) is also a Formula Vee driver in Australia and has produced this interesting track guide for the Sandown Raceway in Victoria.

    Dude, I think you need a new editor. There’s at least three occasions where your editor cuts to a second camera while you’re talking to the first, and it kind of makes you look like you’re talking to yourself.

    1. I thought it was a well put together video considering its only (i presume) amateur filming

      1. Me too.

        I used to enjoy Sandown on Toca Race Driver 2- in fact most of the V8 Supercars tracks seemed pretty fun to drive. I particularly enjoyed trying to straightline the chicane when I felt like cheating. More often than not though it backfired and I ended up in the wall…

        1. Lol Ned!

    2. You never fail to try an put someone down, do you.

      1. It’s a sorry existence

    3. Your offering your services then @prisoner-monkey?

      I hope to be seeing more of your racing soon @iamsa8, nice job with the track guide.

    4. that was my second camera crew @prisoner-monkeys!

      also, all the kind messages on the video needs to be sent to @damonsmedley, he did all the work. I just drove!

    5. @Prisoner-Monkeys Can we give his editor some time to develop first? :-P

      This was, quite literally, two dudes with a camera and a laptop. I’ll leave that with your imagination…

      But seriously, I love constructive criticism, but this was the first time I’ve ever tried anything like this! I’m sure (I hope) they will get better in the future.

      Was it OK otherwise? :-D

  4. I fail to gather the sentiment expressed in the CotD.

    This is a track that has seen several nasty incidents and several fatalities in recent years. I have seen over fifteen GPs held at Sao Paulo, and my eyes are always startled at each opening practice when I see someone storm back into the pits or, more likely, someone uses the pit entrance as the flat-out racing line.

    It’s a much needed safety improvement. The changes at Silverstone to move the pit complex to a different part of the circuit changed the lap of course, but failed to take away from the raciness it produces. Moving the pits three corners away to the ‘back’ straight at Sao Paulo, IMO, will do even less to take away from its lap. It’s just long overdue.

    The longing for nostalgia among many F1 supporters I see at this site and elsewhere is pretty uselss most of the time.

    1. I too am quite excited to see the new pit complex. I will miss the Senna S being turn one though!

      1. It sure will get some getting used to. And suddenly not having an endless pit exit as well!

        But I agree with the both of you that change does not have to be bad

        1. It will allow for some new grandstands on the inside of the Senna S surely too. Would be amazing seats!

          1. No, as far as I know, the existing pit and paddock will stay as they are, and will be used for support categories.

  5. Anthony Davidson has been diagnosed witha broken back following his accident.

    1. Hope he gets well soon, really a shame as they were going well there.

    2. I’ll miss him on Sky Sports F1.

      1. Apparently he walked away from the accident himself and was talking fine, according to Toyota. I’m hoping, for his sake, that the use of the term ‘broken back’ hasn’t scared people into thinking he’s more-o-less done for. Bear Grylls for example has broken his back before and look at hime now! It may not be as serious as the standard lay person thinks when they read ‘broken back’.

        1. Yeah it sounds really bad “broken back” but it’s two cracked vertebrae, so it’s incredibly painful, but with a couple painkillers he should easily still be able to work next weekend

        2. Apparently he walked away from the accident himself and was talking fine

          No he didn’t. He got out the car & then lay down on the side of it untill the medics got there & he was put into the ambulance.

        3. I was saw a car accident once. I was a bystander, and not involved.

          One of the participants did not want to go in the ambulance regardless of how much the Paramedics encouraged it. Finally, as they got ready to leave, they asked him one more time. He turned his head, to respond and fell down.

          I learned later that he too had “fractured vertebre” and had actually died on the spot… right there. Seems the bones were cracked, and had shifted only when he turned.

          You cant screw around with that stuff.

  6. Thaliand is trying to get a Grand Prix from 2014.

    1. that link seems not to be working @prisoner-monkeys

      1. @bascb – I made a mess of the link. So there can be no mistakes, here’s the bare URL:

        http://www.nationmultimedia.com/sports/Vettel-Schumacher-in-Thai-grand-prix-preview-30183951.html

        1. Thanks! Although often we just laugh off another far away country bidding for a GP, with Thailand having the other half of Red Bull there, it must be taken seriously. Maybe take over from Korea then?

          1. @bascb – I still think Korea is an attempt to lure Hyundai into the sport, probably for 2014.

        2. Aditya Banerjee (@)
          18th June 2012, 5:33

          Another night race!!! I thought Formula 1 were trying to make the sport more eco-friendly with the turbocharged V6’s from 2014, and that same year thousands of pounds of coal will be burnt for lighting up a grand prix. Is this hypocrisy or what?

          1. @adibanf1 – Someone should invent a device that collects energy from the sun and turns it into electricity.

          2. @adibanf1
            I hear ya about the ecological hypocracy. I too find it hilarious.
            Personally, I like night races. Glowing brake disks, you can see a driver’s eyes in the helmet, the look of the thing is just stunning.

            Its my opinion that F1’s nod to ecology is nothing more than lip service, to keep the really “greenies” off their back. Lets be honest, F1 is like art, it serves no purpose beyond is own being. Flying 12 F1 teams all over the globe is not ecological, KERS seems like ecology until you consider the nasty battery disposal. Fuel efficiency is served by driving slowly, not ripping around at +200kph, just to finish right where you started…

            I always get a laugh from these things…

          3. Aditya Banerjee (@)
            19th June 2012, 8:28

            @Prisoner Monkeys- There is such a device called the solar cell… but I do not understand why TV timings is so important. I live in East India and I can never watch any primetime Euro Cup matches because they all start after midnight here. Why is that? Because in Poland and Ukraine the matches start at 8:45 pm. This compromises Asian viewing. So it proves that UEFA are not interested about spreading the sport to other countries. Fair enough. But then why can’t FIA do the same thing? They’ve done it in some races like Suzuka and Melbourne, which I am sure that people in Britain must keep a morning alarm for. I guess it all ultimately points to the fact that Bernie wants to dump the traditional non-European circuits(Melbourne, Suzuka, maybe even Montreal and Interlagos!!!). On a similar note, why can’t the Montreal race be held an hour or two earlier? To cater to audience in New Zealand??

    2. Fantastic! Hey Bernie, can you do the Singapore, Malaysian and Thai GPs on consecutive weekends? Through the September school holidays if possible :) That would make a great holiday.

      1. @thecollaroyboys- Right now, Singapore and Malaysia consider themselves to be in direct competition with one another, and think that holding the races back-to-back will only hurt each event because locals will only want to/be able to afford to go to one.

        1. And how does having them one weekend after another change that situation. People still have to choose which to go to, if they can indeed only afford one GP then they still have to make the same choice; regardless of when the Gp’s are staged

  7. Regarding the US GP, I wonder how many of the bought tickets where from locals and how many foreigners, specially mexicans, considering it’s just a couple of hours drive from the border.

    1. I think that’s sort of what they were going for. I’m sure I remember something about it being called CoTA with no specific USA orientated name on purpose.

      1. yes, and with Perez doing so well, seems like a good move (and makes sure that New Jersey in 2013 won’t be a big threat to their revenue), especially now that we also have Maldonado (ie. people from north part of SAmerica interested), and only have Brazil as the nearest track.

    2. I dont care, I hope no-one goes.
      Then Ill have the race all to myself…hehehe its mine…ALL mine

  8. is that pounds or dollars?

    1. The article says dollars. I’d go with that.

    2. call me a synic, but I really think that the whole stock issue thing (esp. its pricing at 10 billion) could have been done to lure in investors, and it seems to have been successful bringing CVC over 2 billion so far.

      1. @bascb I completely agree with you. But then again, most big companies do things like that. Take facebook, and their crazy self-valuation a few weeks ago. It’s all a show to get investors in.

        1. sure @timi, after all the only thing that matters to them is the money.

        2. Facebook: yes, a crazy self evaluation and a crazy valuation by market “professionals” in the big banks sponsoring the float. Those sponsors are already deep underwater on facebook as they had to buy back a bucket load of shares to keep it in the $30 range after the float. They never learn. BasCB is right, this is a “play” to establish a market. I’m sure the investors got some pretty good vendor finance or other kickbacks on the deal.

    3. Urrrrgh, Sorry. I blame the lack of sleep due to Le Mans!

  9. Great preview from Stephen, it’s great to see a blogger as we know him come to life :) Wishing you well on your maiden race at Sandown @iamsa8

    1. thanks for the kind words!

  10. Great video. Congrats Stephen Jones (iamsa8)

    1. thanks for watching!

  11. Not any pics coming from Le Mans, Keith?

  12. That idea to save cost from Gary Anderson (BBC) really is not much to my liking. I do get the Idea, and it might work.

    But really, make teams bring only 3 (or possily 4) updates? Just when we are seeing a lot of friday on track action because teams are testing the new bits?

    Not to mention that there will not be many teams agreeing on this, I guess.

    1. Just when we are seeing a lot of friday on track action because teams are testing the new bits?

      Is that really the most important issue here?

      It costs a lot to develop and build new parts. Especially when you are bringing new parts to every race. You can’t really force the teams to race the same car as Monza as they did at Monaco, but in-season evelopment no doubt gets very expensive, very quickly.

      Perhaps, as an alternative, there could be a limit to the number of new parts a team can put on their car over the course of the season. They can add those parts at any time that they like, but once they reach the limit, they cannot upgrade their car any further. Taking new parts off and putting old parts back on would not count towards the total number of changes, so that teams don’t spend twice as much money making sure the new parts will work.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys Restricting the amount of updates teams can bring in a season as a means of cost control would be a terrible idea. Imagine the situation where a team builds a rubbish car, struggle to understand it (like Ferrari this year) and then add updates that don’t imporve it much (like last year)…. Cost control is being introduced to help teams compete fairly, yet your idea could just as easily make it impossible and illegal under the regulations to make an effort to increase competativness.

        1. @nick-uk – I think you misunderstand me. I’m not saying that the number of upgrades should be limited. I’m saying that the number of parts that can be changed should be limited, with the teams free to introduce those parts whenever they like. This number would actually be quite high to give the teams a little bit of leeway in what they do, and if they were to take parts off the car and put older ones on, it would not count towards the total (so if a team does make a bad upgrade, they don’t get penalised for it and can run an older spec of car). The idea behind this is to end the practice of expensive season-long development programmes, with new parts for every race because developing these parts is a long and expensive process.

          If a team were to build a poor car and then introduce an upgrade that didn’t work, then I’d say they have bigger problems than the total number of upgrades that they are allowed to use. Rather than waste time trying to make a bad car work, they would probably shift focus to the next year’s car.

          1. @prisoner-monkeys Interesting idea. But incredibly difficult to police. What constitutes a “new part”. How big does a change have to be for it to be a new part, or not. It would have too many holes in it, and just be a major point of controversy.
            I feel that if they are serious about cost cutting they should just go over what is already in the RRA (like the wind tunnel-CFD split) and make amendments to that. Bringing in a whole new set of technical rules is opening a bag that I would not like to see opened. But that’s just my two-cents.

          2. @timi and @prisoner-monkeys

            It seems development limits are counterintuitive to the sport. Take a look at the Ferrari this year. In winter testing it was a big, but through countless upgrades and in the expert hands of FA, it is challenging for wins, and leading the WDC.

            I would hate to see the doors close on this type of progress. We will end up with year upon year of “abandoned cars” if any particular livery is not able to challenge right from the start.

            As has been said by others here, including myself; F1 is a choice. If one finds it too expense, one is free to exit.

        2. @javlinsharp A ferrari driver isn’t leading the WDC.

          But anyway, yes I completely agree with you. But I think if we combined what you’re saying, with what I proposed earlier, I think there would be a great middleground.

          It would be your countless updates, and teams improving or falling behind, along with my part for shorter time to research and develop those parts. So instead of them trying to solve a rubix cube in 1 minute, they would have to try it in 45 seconds, or maybe even 30. I would love to see that happen.

          1. @timi
            Fernando was leading until Canada I think.

            I think it will be very hard to limit development on a per part basis. It just seems like another artificial machination, another dumbing down of F1, something thats not supposed to be easy.

            F1 is important because it is hard, because it is expensive.
            I am impressed by the things I could never do.

            If I really wanted to, I could go to Nascar school and drive as fast as those guys do, maybe even contend a race.
            I will NEVER be good enough to drive an F1 car, nor rich enough to own and F1 team. That is why I am impressed.
            Take that away, and its just another bunch of morons wasting gas, but going nowhere.

          2. @javlinsharp I agree and if you read my comments properly you would know that I am against limit on part by part development.

    2. @BasCB Seems pretty silly to me from Gary Anderson. Call me cruel, but this is the pinnacle of motorsport, it’s meant to be tough. I don’t want the big teams to have to curtail their entire philosophy, that’s against the essence of F1 for me. If the teams want to blow half their development budget on bad ideas, let them. This is a sport which rewards the best but punishes the worst and it should remain so. I do want to look after new teams but not at the expense of a system that would turn F1 into some cosy development ground.

      1. +1 – I couldnt say it better myself, though that doesnt stop me from trying.
        @andrewtanner

  13. I am extremely pleased to hear tickets are selling at such a high rate for the USGP!! Really good news.

    I feared the possible US viewers might not be too interested in F1, but it seems I was wrong. Hopefully, they can continue to sell all their available tickets for years to come! The more good tracks on the calendar the better. Now maybe we can get rid of Barcelona and Valencia!!

  14. Short interview with Ant Davidson on Adam Cooper’s blog, he also just tweeted that apparently the chassis of that #8 Toyota can be reused again. Talking about strong!

    1. The doctors say the average recovery time is three months, but that’s an average person…

      That’s a good racer’s response! Hope it’s a quick and straightforward recovery for him – and for Guillaume Moreau, who missed the race with a nastier injury in a similar area.

      I wonder what they’ll use the chassis for? A spare? During the race I heard an ORECA/Toyota guy say there’d only be one Toyota in the other WEC races. So maybe that’s a good sign that they’ll have 2 cars at some rounds.

      I hope Nakajima’s not driving it though…I realise he’s like the guy who shot Bambi at the moment, but I thought he was as big a muppet as the Ferrari driver!

  15. The forth rail bridge is no longer a never end task, it has paint which lasts for up to 50 years. Just saying… ;)

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