Last news post in this thread I'll post all new news in the F1 2020 thread (if I remember, I seem to be having more and more senior moments nowadays)
Lewis gets cease and desist letters from Bernie
Lewis Hamilton may be one of the biggest names in Formula 1 but even he was quashed under Bernie Ecclestone’s thumb, told to “cease and desist” using F1 images on his social media. It is well known that Ecclestone, Formula 1’s previous boss, was extremely protective of his product, so much so that drivers weren’t allowed to post their own footage of what takes place out on track on social media. It was all ruled by Ecclestone.
However, when Liberty Media took over the sport, they immediately relaxed those bans, leading to an increased Formula 1 presence on social media. Speaking during the recent SportsPro OTT summit, F1’s head of digital Frank Arthofer revealed that such was Ecclestone’s hold that he sent Hamilton “cease and desist” letters.
“A great story that Sean Branches, who’s my boss and runs the business at F1 tells, is [about] when Liberty bought the business [and] one of his first meetings was a lunch with Lewis Hamilton, Lewis brought with him to that lunch a stack of ‘cease and desist’ letters from Bernie Ecclestone because Lewis was taking clips of his onboards and posting them on his Instagram channel. And Lewis Hamilton, as I’m sure most of the audience knows, is arguably the biggest star in the history of the sport and has a huge crossover potential across urban culture, music, lifestyle. Working with the drivers and the teams in a more collaborative way to build the sport we think benefits not just Formula 1 but our partners, be that sponsors, broadcast partners and promoters. [It] is a really, really important component of the strategy and probably something we’re still in the early stages of doing well.”
Liberty has given the drivers and teams more freedom on social media. “F1 as of January 2017 was a 66-year-old business and a terrific brand, built largely by Bernie Ecclestone as the owner and proprietor of the business for for 40-odd years,” said Arthofer. “The Liberty thesis for buying F1 was best summed up in three areas. First it’s a global asset, which is an opportunity and a challenge, certainly, but I think in a world in which growth areas for many players and participants along the value chain is increasingly becoming a global proposition, the feeling was that there was an untapped opportunity and that it was well-situated for the future of the business. The second is the increasing value of live sport in the marketplace and I think that applies in a media context, but also an experiential context. We race in 21 countries, 21 grands prix and I think the value that’s accruing in live experiences in the modern economy is increasing. The third component was to a degree the areas of focus that Bernie had. I think he did a terrific job monetising the businesses, it’s a $2 billion dollar revenue business but equally, didn’t invest for the future. He probably didn’t invest in areas like digital, which aren’t necessarily as creative from a pure profit potential in the near-term, but have long-term potential. There’s an old joke that Bernie signs the back of cheques, not the front. The business was quite lean when we took over and we’ve invested in it in order to build long-term asset value.”
Dan Ticktum to takeover as Williams development driver
Dan Ticktum has been signed by Williams as the team's development driver, six months after being dropped from Red Bull's driver development programme. The 20-year-old two-time Macau Grand Prix winner will join Jamie Chadwick in the Williams Driver Academy for the 2020 season, after turning his career around in the second half of 2019. Ticktum has also landed a Formula 2 drive, with the 2019 teams' champion DAMS, for next year, which he will fit around work in the Williams simulator.
"It is a privilege to be joining the Williams Racing Driver Academy, especially given Williams’ incredible heritage in our sport," said Ticktum. "The time in the simulator and experience working with the team will prove invaluable for my development. Being fully integrated into the operations will be a fantastic opportunity and I look forward to assisting wherever I can."
The prospect of securing any seat, let alone an F1 role, looked bleak for Ticktum in 2015 when he deliberately crashed into an MSA Formula rival after an on-track spat. He overtook ten cars while ignoring 13 yellow flags, four double-yellow flags and 15 safety-car boards, to catch up with Ricky Collard and deliberately crash into him. He was banned from racing for two years with one of the years suspended.
PS non-F1 but board related, don't take any notice of the
threads I start in the politics section of this forum, they are purely for fun and used for spread betting only, number of views or number of replies etc. You may have noticed I never return to such threads and make a second post
Everything from now will be in the F1 2020 thread
