Carey: New Concorde Agreement will allow a healthy business model

The new Concorde Agreement that will come into force at the beginning of 2021 will lead to a healthy business model, says Formula 1 Chairman and CEO Chase Carey.

All ten Formula One teams have signed the new Concorde Agreement that will replace the former contract at the start of next year. This agreement dictates the terms of the distribution of the television revenues and prize money among teams, the FIA and Formula One. The finalizing of the eighth Concorde Agreement has been regarded as a great success as it secured the future of the sport for the next five years.

Chase Carey is sure that the New Concorde Agreement will propel the sport towards a new direction that will enable all teams to establish a healthy business model.

“We thought the [old] revenue distribution was too skewed, so we’ve created a more balanced distribution still rewarding success on the track, but clearly making it something that gives every team the chance to have a healthy business model and the resources to be successful on the track,” he explained.

“And when you combine it with the cost cap [coming into force next year] we think those elements together provide the foundation for much better competition and a much healthier business.

Despite considering the new Concorde Agreement as a big success, Carey has revealed that the process until finalizing the new terms by which all 10 of the current teams will compete in Formula One has been a bumpy road, therefore he hopes it will be a more straightforward affair next time out.

“It was encouraging to see the way ultimately how the teams came together and supported this. In many ways I’d like the Concorde Agreement in the future to be less of a dramatic moment in time. These are franchises that have franchise value, and clearly the sport will continue to evolve and the relationship with the teams will continue to evolve. But I’m not sure the drama every five, six, eight years really optimises our ability to work as partners and grow the sport.”

Ferrari has had a special recognition in the previous Concorde Agreements for being part of the sport since its birth. The Scuderia did not take part in the inaugural 1950 British Grand Prix, but has joined the competition in the second event and has only missed 26 Formula 1 races since. The majority of these races that Ferrari missed are the Indy 500 rounds that were part of the Grand Prix calendar.

The Maranello-based outfit will celebrate its 1000th race at the pinnacle of motorsport in the Tuscan Grand Prix on its own Mugello circuit which will be the 1027th Grand Prix of the FIA Formula One World Championship. For this unique record, Ferrari understandably enjoys some extra treatment which the team will continue to have in the period of the eighth Concorde Agreement that will dictate the terms by which the teams compete in races and how the television revenues and prize money is divided from 2021 until 2025.

“Ferrari are our longest standing team, there has been a long historic recognition of it, so there’s still a recognition of it in some rights. I think we’ve addressed those, made them more targeted, made them more manageable as part of the governance structure. But yes, we continue to recognise Ferrari’s unique role in the sport,” said Carey.