Outgoing Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has ruled out his departure is linked to the company potentially selling Formula 1.
F1 has boomed since Liberty Media acquired it from Bernie Ecclestone ahead of the 2017 season.
Since then it has broken the American market, and become globally recognised thanks to Netflix’s Drive to Survive and multiple territories vying for a slice of the F1 pie.
Moreover, rumours last year hinted that Saudi Arabia’s PIF (Public Investment Fund) was interested in a $20 billion takeover of the sport.
Maffei, speaking to CNBC saw no reason why his departure meant F1 would lead to a sale of the series.
“Look, I don’t think there’s any plan to sell it,” he said.
“It’s got a great future, but, you know, I suspect the Board of Liberty will be appropriate stewards of the shareholder capital.
“The business is very well positioned, right?
“[We have] grown the global partnership since 2019.
“We’ve compounded sponsorship at 16%. We’ve compounded all the revenue streams at something like 12%.
“It’s really been a hallmark of what sports wants to be, growing fan interest through things like ‘Drive to Survive,’ growing sponsorship, growing high-end experiences.
“[It is] sort of a model everyone else is a little bit trying to follow.”
Liberty Media Chairman says F1 ‘has a very bright future’
Liberty Media Chairman John Malone is overseeing a changing of the guard at Liberty Media and is set to become acting CEO when Maffei steps down at the end of 2024.
Liberty’s top boss, also speaking to CNBC, praised Formula One Management and looks forward to expanding F1 in the future.
“I believe Formula 1 has a very bright future as is,” he said. “And the management team has done a brilliant job.
“It has a very powerful brand now that can be expanded on, and there are many opportunities to expand in the racing business synergistically.
“So I think I’m certainly going to watch it for a few years before any decision that it would be better off combined with something else.”
READ MORE – Greg Maffei to depart role as CEO of F1 owner Liberty Media
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