Formula 1 owners Liberty Media have established a refreshed presence after taking over from Bernie Ecclestone in January, a trend that the American company looks to continue in 2018. Aside from revised regulations and adding new venues to the race calendar, Liberty has also expressed its eagerness to change some visual aspects of the sport–most notably, its logo. Despite the current trademark having a long and successful stay with fans, F1 boss Chase Carey has taken on the challenge of creating a new signature which is believed to be revealed on the podium at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Rumors of the switch up spread across social media this past week with many taking an opposing stance on the decision. The existing logo, originally penned by Carter Wong Design 23 years ago, has spanned the careers of F1 greats including Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton. During that time, Formula 1 has seen 10 unique Drivers’ Champions and 8 different Constructors’ Titles.
Carey is aware of the potential backlash and addressed it in a recent interview with Sky Sports.
“For sure, any time you change you are always going to get a mixed set of views,” he said. “What we wanted to do was provide a fresh energy to the sport, and I think have a lot of plans for the future and a lot of things we want to do.
“We thought the logo was a good way to emphasize the excitement and a fresh energy to take the sport to a new place. That’s respecting where the sport has been, we are not looking to change the sport, we are looking to provide a fresh innovation and energy to a sport that is a great sport.
“We think we can enhance it and better it, to allow fans to engage in ways they maybe haven’t had the opportunity to in the past around events that truly are the spectacle they should be.”
