The most powerful people in Formula 1

Formula 1 in early 2017 suddenly looks very different - off the track as well as on it. While the faster, wider cars pound around the race circuits of the world at incredible speeds not seen for years, the political landscape has also changed dramatically.

Bernie Ecclestone held sway at the top for nearly 40 years, and anyone who wanted to push in a different direction had to be sure they knew what they were doing, and that they had the leverage to see it through. But now Ecclestone has gone, shunted off to a chairman emeritus role, and effectively been told not to speak unless spoken to.

The past has gone. To be replaced by...what, exactly?

F1 is now owned by a media company, not a private equity group. It is run by a businessman with 30 years' experience in American broadcasting, not a former car dealer who spent his professional life flying by the seat of his pants and making up the rules as he went along. But how will Chase Carey differ from Ecclestone as a chief executive? And how will he handle the competing interests and egos who pull the strings up and down the paddock? And, crucially, who are these people, what are they like, where does their power come from and what do they want to do with it?

Who, in short, really makes the decisions in F1? Are Mercedes and Ferrari really in control, as Ecclestone used to claim from time to time? Is the FIA as powerless as it seems, with Jean Todt as president? What will Red Bull do post-Ecclestone?

F1 Racing's team consulted senior figures, kicked around the names that came up - the same ones repeatedly - and compiled a list of the people who will share and shape the future of F1. This is it.

Most will remember Wurz from his racing career, with Benetton, McLaren and Williams in F1, and as a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours. Now 'retired', he has increasing under-the-radar influence in F1 as chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, an adviser to the board of Williams, a commentator for Austrian TV, and through his circuit design business.

Wurz is deliberately discreet about it, but his influence at Williams, in particular, is profound - he was largely responsible for attracting Paddy Lowe to the team as its new engineering boss. Intelligent, affable and astute, Wurz - who was performance director of the FIA young driver academy during its existence - appears destined for a major F1 role in the near future.

It says a lot for Allison that Toto Wolff was trying to tempt him away from Ferrari even before the relationship with Maranello began to unravel in the summer of 2016. Now installed as Mercedes' technical director, it falls to the 49-year-old son of RAF Air Chief Marshal Sir John Allison - and a keen amateur pilot himself - to keep Mercedes headed in the right direction.

Allison's CV is impressive: a senior aerodynamicist at Ferrari through the dominant Michael Schumacher era and deputy technical director at Renault during Fernando Alonso's two titles, he turned Lotus into a race winner before rejoining Ferrari. He is regarded as F1's pre-eminent aero design leader after Adrian Newey.

Due to legal complications relating to the collapse of his former airline, Kingfisher, Mallya is currently unable to travel outside the UK. But his Force India team is F1's giantkiller. It's a feat all the more remarkable because co-owner Subrata Roy, head of the Sahara Group, is himself in prison due to business irregularities.

Mallya, who was arrested in London last week, continues to protest his innocence while presiding over a team that delivers more bang for buck than any other. Some expect it either all to come crashing down or for Mallya to sell - perhaps to the Mexicans who back Sergio Perez - but he keeps on going. And as a member of the F1 Strategy Group, F1 Commission and the FIA World Motor Sport Council, he wields significant influence.

Lauda is famed for his achievements in F1 - not just three world titles and 25 GP wins, but also his incredible comeback from the 1976 accident that left him so badly burned he was given the last rites. Now, he has reinvented himself as a senior insider in his role as non-executive chairman of and 10% shareholder in the Mercedes F1 team.

After a chequered managerial career at Ferrari and Jaguar, Lauda's appointment at Mercedes raised a few eyebrows, but he has no executive authority - that lies with Toto Wolff - and he is effectively a kind of idiosyncratic roving adviser. His friendship with Ecclestone helped Mercedes secure its current lucrative prize-money deal and he remains admired for his willingness to speak his mind - no matter what anyone thinks.

Can a 19-year-old with one grand prix win under his belt really be the 21st most influential person in F1? It's a measure of the impact Verstappen has had since his debut, aged 17. Already F1's youngest race winner, few would bet against his breaking Sebastian Vettel's record as the youngest champion.

So why all the hype? Just take a look at Brazil 2016: a breathtaking drive for the ages that drew comparisons with Ayrton Senna and the sort of performance that makes people forget he was soundly beaten by team-mate Daniel Ricciardo over the season.

Expect Verstappen to be a major player for the next decade and beyond: Red Bull has him tied up until late 2019, but the big teams all have their eyes on him. He'll surely end up as a Mercedes or Ferrari driver sooner or later.

Now 58, Red Bull's gangly, geeky genius remains F1's biggest engineering star. The man behind era-defining cars at Williams, McLaren and Red Bull has a talent for racing-car design unmatched by anyone in the sport's history.

It's not just that Newey can 'see' the airflow and is persistent in pursuing design avenues he knows will pay off even if they are problematic at first. He also has a rare grasp of all-round performance engineering built in from his hands-on early career.

Newey's passion for F1 started to wane a few years ago, but a spell playing with America's Cup yachts and the new Aston Martin/Red Bull hypercar, plus the introduction of new rules for 2017, re-energised him. Mercedes is rightly wary of what he can achieve.

Of founder Sir Frank Williams' three children, it is his daughter Claire who has taken on the running of the Williams F1 team. She does so with relaxed warmth and humanity and has built up a strong team around her - with managing director Mike O'Driscoll, formerly of Jaguar Cars, running the business, Wurz working behind the scenes and tech ace Lowe recently arrived from Mercedes to oversee the engineering side of the Williams Group.

The key challenge for Williams so far has been finding money, hence the arrival of Lance Stroll - and billionaire father Lawrence - this season. Managing the Strolls' inevitable demands will be her next big test, but the much-needed cash injection means we could see great things from this historic team.

There is no one secret to the success Mercedes has enjoyed over the past three years, and certainly no one single person responsible. But any list of the most influential figures involved in those three title doubles has to have the managing director of Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains somewhere near the top.

The turbo hybrid V6 engine produced at HPP's Brixworth factory will go down in history as one of the great racing powerplants, redefining what is possible from an internal combustion engine with a revolution in terms of thermal efficiency.

Cowell's relaxed but focused leadership style permeates the group, and matches the atmosphere of the Formula 1 team in general. A little over two years ago, Ferrari came close to tempting him away. Mercedes must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when he turned Maranello down in the end.

Christian Horner established his strength in F1 through a simple methodology: he tied his political allegiance to Ecclestone and his competitive one to Newey. For a while, as head of F1's most successful team, he was immensely influential.

But the change in engine formula undermined his power just as it did his team's competitiveness, and the departure of Ecclestone raises unanswered questions about how Horner will align himself now.

Sidelined by the joint forces of Mercedes and Ferrari, he sounded for a time like a man railing against the future, trying to turn back the clock. But he is a smart operator, a savvy manipulator of the media - and a force to be reckoned with.

He turns 36 this summer, is driving for a team that seems lost at sea, and his contract runs out at the end of the year. Yet there has been no dimming of Fernando Alonso's driving skills nor his ambition, and he remains one of the biggest of the big beasts in the paddock.

One of only two true superstars in F1, Alonso's record, charisma and the respect with which he is regarded, ensure he remains a major influence. When he speaks, people listen - and not just because his news conferences are consistently the most engaging. Smart, aloof and eloquent, there is always meaning and thought behind his words. And on track he remains the gold standard.

For a long time, Brown was known as the paddock's pre-eminent sponsor-finder. As head of marketing agencies Chime and JMI, he brought names such as Martini, Rolex and Johnnie Walker to Formula 1 in recent years. And as the new executive director at McLaren, he has to weave similar magic for the team he now runs.

But the job is much bigger than that. McLaren is struggling, and under the new executive board of Bahrain's Sheikh Mohamed and Mansour Ojjeh, following the ousting of Ron Dennis, it's Brown's responsibility to sort those problems out.

Those close to him say he's a whirlwind of energy and drive - both much-needed qualities when it comes to turning McLaren around.

Where would F1 be without Charlie Whiting? He writes the rules, oversees their imposition, looks after safety and is basically the boss of every grand prix weekend. He orchestrates the running of the on-track sessions, and when he's not doing that he plays host to a never-ending conveyor belt of senior figures with questions about... well, just about anything. And he's done this for nearly 30 years, while remaining relaxed and approachable.

A former chief mechanic for Ecclestone's Brabham team, Whiting is the ultimate poacher-turned-gamekeeper. He will be 65 this year and there have been continuing rumours that he'll soon step down. It will take someone very special to replace him if he does.

There have been many signs that new F1 owner Liberty Media is smart and switched on, and one of its best decisions has been to retain Ecclestone's former chief lawyer.

Woodward-Hill was Ecclestone's most trusted aide for 20 years and knows more about the deals and contracts that hold F1 together than anyone other than its former impresario. So who better to have as your chief legal officer (her new title under Liberty)?

F1's new owner has grand plans to make changes, but it needs a firm grasp of where F1 is now to move it forward: Woodward-Hill provides it.

F1 chairman Chase Carey wants the championship to be better at promoting itself globally and to grow its audience, and it's Bratches who will implement that. Little known in the UK, Bratches made his reputation at US sports TV network ESPN, where Carey says he "built one of the truly great franchises in sport".

Bratches' profile on the press release announcing his appointment was revealing. It said he oversaw ESPN's "advertising and sponsor sales and content licensing, as well as the research and analytics, marketing, consumer products and events marketing divisions... HDTV, broadband, video-on-demand, subscription video-on-demand, interactive television, pay-per-view, Spanish-language, and sports syndication products".

There's F1's brave new world right there.

It is something of a paradox that a man with no real passion for F1 (some say he is lukewarm on its value to a carmaker) also happens to lead the manufacturer that is committed to the championship for the longest period. Not only has Renault been involved in Formula 1 in one form or another since 1977, but its current contract runs until 2024, while everyone else is committed only until 2020.

Ghosn has a powerful influence: F1 probably wouldn't have its turbo hybrid engines had it not been for his insistence. And he was instrumental in fending off Ecclestone's attempts to kill the hybrid formula.

No agreement on the next engine formula will be possible without him.

A former racer, whose career came to an end when an accident caused him to lose the sight in one eye, Helmut Marko is the de facto boss of Red Bull in Formula 1. He does not run the team and is not its public face - that's Horner's job.

Instead, as the right-hand man of Red Bull's publicity-shy owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Marko is the power behind the throne - and the man who controls the destiny of Red Bull's drivers.

Forthright and outspoken, and not afraid to stick his oar in, he is not popular with Red Bull's opponents. Which is as good an indication of the power he holds as anything.

Bahrain's crown prince effectively co-owns McLaren and bolsters the income of Formula 1 by hosting one of its richest races. What's more, the Middle Eastern vote was key in getting Jean Todt elected as president of governing body the FIA.

Worldly-wise, with a degree from Washington DC University and a Masters from Cambridge, Sheikh Salman is not hands-on at McLaren, which is 50% owned by Mumtalakat, the investment arm of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

That role falls to his cousin Sheikh Mohamed. Nor is he directly involved in the FIA World Motor Sport Council - that role lies with his younger brother, Sheikh Abdullah. But as heir to the Bahraini throne, he is the senior figure overall.

The fastest driver in the world and grand prix racing's biggest star, triple champion Lewis Hamilton is the only person in Formula 1 who actually transcends it. The son of a former British Rail IT expert, Hamilton has risen from a council house in Stevenage to global fame, mixing with pop stars and movie legends and counting several of them among his friends.

With 4.2 million Twitter followers, he massively outstrips his colleagues' appeal - Alonso is next with 2.4 million followers - and that only heightens an influence that would anyway be huge given his monumental talent. He has deliberately changed his image over the years to become a tattooed, edgy, 'street' superstar, and now has major fashion brands clamouring for his endorsement.

One of the most successful engineering leaders in F1 history has re-emerged from a sabbatical as F1's managing director of motorsports - the man charged with creating a new F1 fit for the next decade amid a changing media and sporting landscape.

It's a big job, but as he won seven world titles with Benetton and Ferrari, another with his own team and then set Mercedes on its current course, it's hard to think of anyone better qualified.

Brawn has signposted his general direction - he wants a "purer and simpler" F1. The DRS overtaking aid is definitely in his sights, as is a car design that facilitates racing.

His toughest task is likely to be a new engine formula post-2020 and squaring the circle of something that satisfies the demands of the manufacturers for road-relevance and efficiency and those of the many fans who want a more satisfying noise.

He's charming, friendly and open with the media - up to a point - but there is a streak of ruthlessness behind the smile. And that was evidenced by his effective sacking over the winter of Lowe, the man who has led design as Mercedes dominated F1.

As head of Mercedes motorsport, Wolff is not only the boss of F1's most successful team, he also wields major influence as engine supplier to two others. Williams and Force India are both Strategy Group members, and are unlikely to vote against the interests of the company that provides them with the cheapest and best engine in F1.

As Mercedes' representative, Wolff's job is to wield the political power.

A starker contrast with his predecessor as FIA president it would be hard to find. Where Max Mosley was all hands-on Machiavellian manipulator, Todt takes a laissez-faire approach to F1, by and large. Improving road safety, as much part of the FIA remit as regulating world motorsport, appears to be at least of equal importance to this principled leader.

Todt's reluctance to get involved in F1 matters frustrates many in the paddock, but collegiate decision-making and a hatred of conflict is surely so much easier to live with than the tempestuous explosions that once characterised the FIA's methods. His re-election seems assured later this year.

What's less certain are the future dynamics of his relationship with the triumvirate now at the head of the Formula One Group. The frost between Todt and the obstinately singular Ecclestone only thickened with time, but how will the president respond to the new force of nature now sitting opposite him?

Once boss and employee, Todt and Brawn today eye each other from a very different perspective. Together they can shape a brighter, fresher future - but only if they can work from common ground. That partnership, if it forms, has the potential to be the most influential in the history of F1.

The co-owner of Red Bull for many years formed a powerful alliance with Ecclestone, who repaid the Austrian for the billions he spends on F1 with his two teams and all the publicity he gives the championship by effectively supporting his agenda.

Now Ecclestone has gone, it will be interesting to see how Mateschitz responds. Taking part is no longer good enough - he wants Red Bull to win. Mercedes' domination has made that difficult and its power has prevented moves - backed by Mateschitz - to scrap turbo hybrid engines.

In other sports, Red Bull's modus operandi is often to own the playing field and the rules. In F1 Mateschitz can't have either. So will he stick around post-2020?

The chairman of Mercedes' parent company Daimler AG since 2006, Dieter Zetsche matches new F1 boss Carey for luxuriant facial foliage and rivals him for power. If Zetsche pulled the plug on Mercedes' F1 involvement, it would cost the series a champion team, an engine supplier of 24 years' involvement, and the kudos of one of the biggest names in the automotive world.

Through industry-based alliances with Fiat-Chrysler and Renault-Nissan, Zetsche works arm-in-arm with Ferrari's Sergio Marchionne and Renault's Ghosn to protect their interests in F1. It says much for his leverage that he is the senior partner. In short, whatever F1 decides post-2020, it will need Zetsche's buy-in.

Ferrari's current president is a very different animal from his predecessor. Luca di Montezemolo was an aristocrat for whom flamboyance, ostentatiousness and self-regard were ingrained. Marchionne is a tough-talking Italian-Canadian with a New York brogue, famous for his salty language.

Where di Montezemolo was all bella figura, Marchionne favours a pullover and slacks - hence his nickname, the 'jumpered assassin'.

He's a hard-nosed businessman who won't put up with any nonsense. His directness and aggression in meetings of team owners make him a mainstay of paddock gossip. He's hinted he will retire by the end of 2018, and before then, his biggest task is to deal with the expected attempts by Liberty Media to cut Ferrari's $100m historic bonus payout.

It is hard to imagine two more different businessmen than F1's old boss and its new one. Ecclestone was the son of a trawlerman; a car dealer who cut his teeth in East London and who, no matter how rich he became, has never seemed very far away from the mean streets on which he built his initial wealth.

Carey is a graduate of Colgate University, a private liberal arts college in New York, and Harvard Business School; a man who has lived a life of east-coast respectability and privilege. Anyone who has met Carey or seen his interviews since he took over as F1's chairman and chief executive officer could not fail to have reached the conclusion that he is a highly impressive and accomplished man, with a far-reaching vision for the future of the series he has been put in charge of, and the wherewithal and nous to make it happen.

Carey has made it clear that he wants to preside over a very different F1 to the one run by Ecclestone. He wants a collegiate approach to decision-making, not an adversarial one. He seeks planning and organisation, not on-the-hoof decision-making. He wants a strategy in place before considering tactics to implement it.

After years of dealing with Ecclestone's divide-and-conquer method, his malice, vindictiveness and threats, many of the big beasts of F1 almost certainly welcome his replacement. But if any of them think Carey is likely to be a pushover, they had better think again.

Carey is expertly qualified for his new role. As chief executive of Fox he nailed the $1.6billion NFL rights deal that made the cable network a major player in American sports broadcasting. At NewsCorp subsidiary DirecTV, he added a million new subscribers a year, which brought him to the attention of Liberty Media, which bought DirecTV in 2006. Since then, he has been president of Murdoch's NewsCorp, then COO and then president of 21st Century Fox.

If anyone can unite the ferocious members of the 'Piranha Club' to build F1 a brighter future, it is surely Carey.

Honourable mentions

Any list such as this will generate controversy as much for the names it leaves out as the ones it includes. In this case, the most glaring omission is the man who might have been number one had we been writing this time last year: Bernie Ecclestone. How times have changed for the 86-year-old. One minute lord of all he surveyed; the next moment his influence eradicated in one fell swoop.

Of the drivers, the obvious omission is four-time champion Sebastian Vettel. His reputation has taken a bit of a battering over the past few years as first Ricciardo beat him in 2014 and then Kimi Raikkonen almost matched him towards the second half of last year. Ricciardo - who also might have made the list - went as far as to say last year that "Seb was lucky" to be at Red Bull when he was.

But the quadruple champion, still not even 30, could yet find himself in a Mercedes next year.

At Williams are three people who nearly made the list: managing director O'Driscoll; new engineering chief Lowe, who has steered the Mercedes ship very successfully over the past three years; and a new arrival, Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire whose son, Lance, is driving for Williams this year. Stroll is directly responsible for the investment of upwards of £40m in the team in the past two years. He is not a shareholder. Yet. But he soon could be, and his influence is likely only to increase.

There are more. But those mentioned here are the people who will do most to shape F1 in the next few years, a period critical to its future success.