Former ITV-F1 pundit Mark Blundell has echoed the sentiments of Virgin Racing sporting director Graeme Lowdon in arguing that pay-per-view television coverage for the sport would be a bad move - co🦩ntending that the unsuccessful previous experiment just under a decade ago should be ample deterrent.

One of the products of the raft of recent speculation that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp group is eyeing a potential takeover of F1 has been the notion that the 80-year-old Australian-American media mogul could additionally - or perhaps alternatively - secure broadcast rights to the sport for BskyB once the current deal with the BBC expires at the end of 2013.

That would engender with it a shift to pay-per-view coverage, but Lowdon is adamant that F1 is 'served much better in the world of free-to-air' [see separate story - 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:click here]. Whilst acknowledging that much will depend upon the terms of the new Concorde Agreement due 🐻to be discussed this summer, Blundell - who began 61 grands prix for Brabham, Ligier, Tyrrell and McLaren between 1991 and 1995 - tends to agree, and suggests the sport woulꦆd do well to learn from past mistakes.

"Pay-per-view is nothing new for F1 in the UK," the 44-year-old - who has recently been confirmed alongside erstwhile F1 sparring-partner Johnny Herbert and Audi DTM new boy Edoardo Mortara in a Volkswagen Golf for June's N?rburgring 24 Hours - told GPUpdate.net, alluding to Sky's F1 Digital+ package of 2002.

"We've seen it before and it d✤idn't work, basically. I think it would be a crying shame if it went to that - I think it should be free-to-air access, and I think that's probably what appeals to most of the sponsors and manufacturers.

"To say what's going to go on with F1...what a question! I think you could have several ansꦺwers but, ultimately, we have to understand what's going on with the new Concorde Agreement, which is to be put together very soon.

"There's a situation in wh𓄧ich an investmꦬent company owns a product and maybe wants to exit, to get a return on its investment. We've got somebody (Bernie Ecclestone) who's been in F1 for 30-odd years and in some way doesn't own what he used to but still has the ultimate control, by the looks of it from the outside world.

"There are 𓆏s🔥o many ingredients. Then throw in the FIA at the same time and we've really got some interesting times ahead of us. It's going to come to a stage when we will get a new owner of F1, that's for sure, but whether it's in the short or long-term, we'll have to wait and see."