Formula One’s new American owners will make London the epicentre of the sport — including pushing for a grand prix on the streets of the capital.

Fears that Liberty Media, the media conglomerate based in the United States who have completed the £6.4billion acquisition of Formula One, would move the sport’s headquarters out of London after pushing aside Bernie Ecclestone have been quashed by Chase Carey, the new boss.

Carey will move operations out of Ecclestone’s offices in Princes Gate, across the road from Hyde Park, but the headquarters will remain in London. Insiders say that Carey and his new executive team will need the forensic skills of Sherlock Holmes as they enter Ecclestone’s labyrinthine world, his exclusive domain over 40 years running Formula One.

The Standard revealed yesterday that Carey wants Sacha Woodward-Hill, Ecclestone’s chief legal officer and most trusted aide, to stay on to guide him through the welter of contracts struck with broadcasters and circuits around the world. There will also be a job offer for Duncan Llowarch, the chief financial officer.

As part of his commitment, Carey has moved into an apartment not far from Ecclestone’s forbidding headquarters in Knightsbridge.

It is a long way from his home town in Connecticut but Carey is already assessing Formula One’s future just three days into his new job as chief executive. That will include attempting to resurrect plans for a London Grand Prix. A race around the capital, taking in world famous landmarks like Marble Arch, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square was a long time dream of Ecclestone’s. He was so determined it would happen that he even offered to foot the projected £40million bill for roadworks and infrastructure developments.

Ecclestone’s vision was of massive interest from corporate clients, huge television revenues and vast crowds. His hunch that a race in London would be Britain’s biggest crowd pleaser was underlined when Formula One staged a demonstration in Regent Street in 2004 in front of an estimated 250,000 spectators. Silverstone in Northamptonshire has threatened to cut short a 17-year contract to host the British Grand Prix as it staggers under the weight of fees costing £17m and rising.

But Carey is dedicated to maintaining Formula One’s historic events in Europe and adding big city events in London and the United States — with the focus on New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas — where Liberty are anxious to raise the profile of the sport.

“London is a great city and there is no question [you think of it] when you think where are the cities you want to be in,” Carey said. “We have Silverstone in the UK but I recognise it is not in London. I don’t want to get too far into speculation on any particular city at this point but London is obviously a great city. Having a race in the UK is important to us. We look forward to engaging with Silverstone and talking about how we make sure that race can, and is, everything it should be. We think there are real opportunities to grow Silverstone.”

After five months of keeping a low profile, Carey is now in high gear, spending his first day in office fulfilling a range of media commitments in London. Ecclestone was still at work today in Princes Gate preparing for the handover and mulling over Carey’s offer to remain as chairman emeritus, an honorary title that would allow him to stay on as an adviser. But Carey made clear where the power now lies when he disclosed that Ecclestone’s advice would be on a “take it or leave it” basis for the new American owners.

Ecclestone’s dictatorial style of management appears to have been consigned to the bin with Carey seeking concensus with the 11 teams and the FIA governing body. “It will be up to us where and when his advice is of help,” Carey added. “It won’t be a one-man show now but I will value his perspective and insights on Formula One.”