Martin Whitmarsh: Formula One Teams Association has the power to control Formula 1
According to a recent statement by the chairman of Formula One Teams Association Martin Whitmarsh, FOTA has the power to direct Formula 1 wherever they want for the betterment of the sport.
“All of the FOTA teams believe in free-to-air. I think there will be parts of the market where maybe there's some differentiated service offered,” said Whitmarsh.
There have been a lot of rumours that BBC might lose its right to cover Formula 1 in the future after which the chief of Formula 1 Management Bernie Ecclestone also stated that the officials of the sport want to keep BBC as their coverage partners and the
sport should be free-to-air in the future as well.
It is believed that the News Corp. link with Formula 1 might turn out to be quite controversial as it is believed that they are willing to take over BBC’s responsibilities and probably become the coverage partners of the sport which most of the fans and
the officials do not want.
Whitmarsh claims that the FOTA does not want the sport to be broadcasted on pay-per-view television. He said if that happens, then the FOTA is going to do something about this problem and probably take this matter into their own hands in order to help the
audience.
“Our current contract requires that it remains on free-to-air and the teams, now that we operate more effectively together through FOTA - then clearly we're going to safeguard our interests and the interests of the fans in this regard,” he added.
Other than that, there are rumours that News Corp. might purchase the sport in the future due to the current financial problems Formula 1 is going through. Whitmarsh claims that the teams are working together and the sport is not going anywhere.
“I know that there's speculation of News Corp's interest, and let's be clear, the teams are working together; this sport isn't going anywhere without the teams,” said the team principal of McLaren.
It is going to be interesting to see what comes up after these statements as Whitmarsh clearly stated that nothing could happen to the sport if the teams stand for it and that is what the FOTA is all about.
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