Miami Dolphins and Paris Saint-Germain Owners Looking to Buy Into Formula 1

Formula 1 could be set for a change in ownership. The premier global racing championship — which has spent much of this year dismissing claims of a crisis — has attracted the attentions of Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, and Qatar Sports Investments, the owners of French football club Paris Saint-Germain. The Financial Times reports that this collaboration will look to purchase a 35.5% stake in the holding company that owns F1, which is currently held by CVC Capital Partners.

CVC is F1's primary shareholder and has owned its stake for 10 years, earning an estimated $4-5 billion dollars to date. An attempt to float the sport on the Stock Exchange of Singapore — which would have meant a total gain of over $7 billion — failed to come off.

The firm has faced heavy criticism for generating profit that it does not re-invest into the sport. As such costs to the teams have become extremely high, resulting in some going under and putting new entries off. Half of the grid now run pay drivers due to a lack of sponsors, many of which have been tempted away from teams and into trackside advertising.

The sport has also introduced costly and controversial new V6 engines. Dietrich Mateschitz — the owner of Red Bull and one of F1's most powerful figures — has made repeated threats to quit F1, a move that would take four cars from an already depleted grid.

What's more, F1 has faced criticism for moving away from its traditional venues — the sport no longer races in France or Germany, while Italy is also at risk — and heading towards nations that are willing to pay extremely high fees to stage grands prix, such as Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and Azerbaijan.

The sport has gone behind a TV paywall in many countries, including the UK and France. This earned more short-term profit for CVC, but it may also damage F1's long-term popularity as viewers can no longer follow a full season without taking out a subscription.

Bob Fernley, the outspoken deputy team principal at the Force India squad, told the Guardian that "CVC was the worst thing to ever happen to Formula 1".

Should the deal come off, it is reported that F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone would retain his role at the head of the sport, despite being a few months short of his 85th birthday. The Financial Times quotes a source as saying: "They believe he brings a lot to the sport and they can help expand it into the US and Chinese markets."