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Wolff: Liberty arrival must not become a distraction

Mercedes AMG Petronas boss Toto Wolff says Liberty Media's takeover of the sport must not become a distraction in 2017 and that they must avoid getting "lost" in all the politics.

The American media giant completed its takeover of the sport last month with F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone ousted.

Wolff said recently that the teams should not dismiss Liberty's share proposals, but he has now emphasised that such considerations are a "second priority" for Mercedes with the racing the core focus as the team looks to maintain its dominance under the new regulations for 2017.

"From a team's perspective we need to concentrate on the car's development and performance and avoid getting lost in all the chatter about Formula 1 shareholdings and politics," he said. "That is a second priority to us."

Wolff also pointed out that while there are some areas the sport does need to improve in, it is not all bad.

"Many things are very good, we've had some great races, promoters doing an excellent job and TV ratings being sky high at the end of the [last] season," he continued.

"But there are some things still left unsettled, the digital world is one of those, and it is not a no-brainer, it is quite difficult.

"Chase [Carey [F1's new chairman and CEO] and his team are experts and there is a great deal for us to learn altogether. The platform is very important and to be part of the functioning platform [is important too]." 

Zdroj: crash.net