Formula 1 owner Liberty Media has appointed former F1 CEO Chase Carey to its board to support its running of Grand Prix racing.
Change is afoot at Liberty with Greg Maffei stepping down as CEO at the end of the year and the company is set to acquire MotoGP.
Amid its acquisition of MotoGP, Liberty Media is planning to split off its Liberty Live Group to focus on its sports investments, including F1.
To help ease the transition away from Maffei and to support current F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, his predecessor Carey was appointed to the Liberty Media board of directors on Friday.
“Chase has been an excellent partner to Liberty for many years, from our investment in DIRECTV in 2008 to Liberty’s purchase of Formula 1 in 2017 where his role as CEO was key to securing the acquisition,” said Liberty Media Chairman John Malone.
“He was instrumental in building a successful foundation at F1 from which the business has grown materially.
“Chase’s knowledge and expertise across media, entertainment, sports, business and more will be valuable to the board as our companies execute on their next chapters of growth and value creation.”
Carey added, “Liberty is at an exciting point in its storied evolution, with a more focused asset base centred around high-quality, premium sporting assets that I know well.
“I look forward to contributing to Liberty as a director in partnership with John, Liberty management and the portfolio company leadership teams.”
What does appointing Chase Carey mean for F1?
Carey acted as F1 CEO when Liberty Media acquired the series ahead of the 2017 season before he appointed Domenicali as his successor in 2021.
He served as Chairman of F1 from 2106 through 2022.
His return to the fold at Liberty Media will see him work on the Executive Committee of its board but he won’t be involved in the day-to-day operations of F1.
That still falls to Domenicali, but Carey can use his experience to support the Italian when warranted, along with advising on the direction of MotoGP in the near future.
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