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As Formula 1 nears the end of its first year under the commercial management of Liberty Media, grand prix racing's new owner could do well to use the winter break to take stock of exactly what it is it has bought. At first glance the answer may seem straightforward enough - the rights to the world's premier motor racing series - but as Liberty digs deeper it may find it needs to redefine the constituent parts of F1.
Is it, for example, a motorised sporting series for highly skilled drivers, or is it simply a technological platform upon which motor manufacturers and component suppliers are able to demonstrate their expertise, using human guinea pigs to push the envelope? Combination of both? If so, what split?
Or is F1 an entertainment exercise? A media platform? Do not laugh - F1's holding company made its money, billions of it, off media platforms, while a raft of F1's executives were recruited from media companies. That surely tells a tale or two.
