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          Zak Brown 'would love to participate' in F1 management

          Dan Istitene/Getty Images

          Zak Brown, the man being tipped to fill a management role in Formula One, says he would "love to participate" in running the sport.

          On Monday Brown announced he is stepping down from his role as group CEO of CSM Sport & Entertainment. The news was widely seen as freeing him up for some sort of position of authority alongside F1's new chairman Chase Carey, installed in that role earlier this month after Liberty Media agreed to purchase a controlling stake in the sport.

          Bernie Ecclestone has been kept on as CEO but, having run the sport almost single-handedly since the late 1970s, is now likely to be part of a wider management group. Brown is responsible for bringing the likes of Johnnie Walker, Martini and UBS into F1 and he welcomes the idea of having a bigger role.

          Asked on Sky Sports News whether there was any validity to the rumours, he replied: "I would love to be involved in Formula One, as I have been for 15, 20 years, and I think I've got a lot to contribute. There's a lot of different ways to be involved in Formula One so I think everyone's getting a little ahead of themselves about what role I'm going to play."

          Brown was quick to stress that he does not think any role he takes in F1 will be at the expense of Ecclestone, but rather alongside him.

          "I don't think anyone is going to be 'the new Bernie'. I think you're going to see grow and become some sort of management team over time. The sport is too big for anyone individual, it's a big multi-billion dollar business. I'd love to participate as I have done for the last couple of decades in the sport and I'm very open to what that might look like.

          "Liberty at this point is a minority investor so it will take time for everyone to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Bernie has a certain way he does things and my company wouldn't be as successful as it is today if it wasn't for Bernie -- I think everyone in the F1 pitlane can make that statement.

          "He's built such a big sport but he's recognised he needs some support and some help. If you look at these other major sports, the Premier League, the Olympics, etc, they've got pretty big teams in marketing that focus on the fans, so I think they'll be more of that."