Formula One has a huge opportunity to grow under new owners Liberty Media but it must also tread carefully in making changes to the rules, according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.

Responding to the departure of the sport’s 86-year-old supremo Bernie Ecclestone after 40 years in charge and his replacement by American Chase Carey, Wolff said the future looked bright.

“The Ecclestone era ending is a pretty big thing,” he said.

“We need to embrace the future and we shouldn’t be too nostalgic about the past. This sport has a huge opportunity for growing bigger and bigger and we could all benefit from this.”

Former Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn has been drafted in as a managing director to oversee the sporting side under Carey.

While there has been talk of radical changes to the race weekend, and appealing to new audiences, Brawn has said he wants a full analysis of the sport’s strengths and weaknesses without the knee-jerk reactions that have been evident in past.

The rules are undergoing a major change this season, with bigger tyres and revised aerodynamics designed to make the cars faster and more aggressive but there are already fears overtaking could suffer.

Wolff said Brawn would give the “right guidance, together with the teams and the FIA, to develop the sport in the right direction”.

The Austrian warned that changes needed to be evaluated.

“We shouldn’t mess with our loyal fans and our audiences by implementing rules and regulations that we haven’t assessed properly.

“We should use data in a scientific approach and see what works in other sports, then combine that with the great strengths of F1,” he added.