Parr to continue Ecclestone challenge
Thursday 14th July 2011
Williams chairman Adam Parr has vowed to continue challenging Bernie Ecclestone, even if the Formula One supremo keeps on putting him in his place.
Last month Parr claimed there were "fundamental problems" with F1, in particular with regard to maximising revenue from technology.
Parr felt aggrieved as even Turkish football earns marginally more from television rights than F1, with the figure currently around 500million US dollars (£308million).
And the Williams chairman is standing by his guns, saying: "What Bernie has created at the events, the quality, the places we go, the standards we operate to, everybody is blown away. This is at a different level.
"On the media side, the historical achievement of creating the audience we have, the quality of the feed and race direction is unbelievable. It's world class.
"What I was trying to say is that social media, the internet and even pay tv, with how it's grown up in the last decade must change the landscape.
"It's not just how you communicate with people, how you distribute to people, but it's also about what's possible economically."
Parr then cited Williams driver Rubens Barrichello as an example, and last week's confirmation of Renault returning as an engine supplier.
"Rubens has one million followers on Twitter, of whom I suspect a significant proportion are Brazilians," added Parr.
"For Renault, Brazil is a key market. So when Rubens is tweeting 'we're back with Renault, this is fantastic news', bang! One million people who've opted to follow him get an endorsement of Renault which is not commercially driven.
"It's what he generally feels about their company and brand. How do you quantify what that is worth? How many TV adverts of a Clio is that worth?
"We have to think about what the future is and challenge ourselves as a sport and challenge Bernie, because he controls the commercial rights, to look at what is possible."
Parr appreciates, however, he personally faces an uphill struggle given Ecclestone's feelings towards him.
"He is an amazing guy and I have enormous respect for him, but we can't sit here just being smug about our achievements," said Parr.
"Whenever we have a chat, though, it's very friendly and he gently puts me back in my box.
"He reminds me how little I understand and I accept that, but it's not going to stop me asking the question."
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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