Liberty Media would not refuse to sell Formula 1, the company’s president John Malon admitted that he would sell the championship. A buyer should provide the right price.
“It is a public company,” he said. “If someone runs away and they want to buy it and they are willing to pay more for it, then we think that they can distribute the shareholders, we will sell it.”
Liberty Media officially entered Formula 1 in 2017, acquiring the series for $ 8 billion from CVC capital partners. In 2023, rumors about an acquisition dialect from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) broadcast, allegedly priced at $ 20 billion, although there was never any official confirmation.
Since assuming office, Liberty has not only operated the global expansion of F1, but has also taken public the championship. Nasdaq-listed Fwonk has multiplied in stock price, increasing from about $ 30 per share in 2017 to about $ 100 today.
“I think shareholders feel right at this time,” Malon insisted Open bidding unfiltred podcast.
“It’s really performing well. It has an extraordinary good economic structure. It will be a very big free cashflow generator, outlining its high evaluation. And there, perhaps, will be the older synergistic ad-on. It is still a big brand to drive.”
John Malon, President, Liberty Media
Photo by photo: Steven T / Motorsport Images
As of December 2024, Liberty Media was led by Greg Pardon as CEO. When apology stepped down, Malon temporarily played a role, brought back Familiar faces like chase carry, former F1 CEOOn board. In February, Malon appointed Derek Chang as the new CEO of Liberty and for now, things are getting very good.
“With the original Liberty Media, I had my dream team,” Malon stressed. “And now, I think with Chase Kerry on the board, Bob Bennett back from the original Dream Team and Derek played the CEO, I think it’s a great executive team. And I really enjoy watching them doing my luggage.”
Under the leadership of Stephano Dominical, F1 has recently achieved a link to business successes. Long -term contract extensions were announced for several circuits including Miami and Spielberg, which both are closed until 2041. The major partnership was also signed with global brands such as Aramco, AWS (Amazon), PepsiCo, MSc Cruise and Crypto.com.
The next large border may be global streaming rights. In the US, the contract with Broadcaster ESPN is ready to end at the end of 2025 and according to media reports, Apple F1 is considering stepping into broadcasting.
Such a deal will form on an existing relationship: Formula 1 and Apple already worked on the Hollywood blockbuster F1: the film starring Brad Pit. Apple is considered as the success of the first major box-office success, this may be a preface for widespread cooperation between the pair.
Mogul, a lifetime media, is confident that the television scenario will go through radical changes in the coming years. Apparently without tying it to F1, he said: “I think social networking eventually also becomes streaming entertainment.
Austrian Grand Prix extended its contract
By photo: zak mauger / lat images through gati images
“I think you are looking at that with Google’s YouTube, where they have effectively combination of membership entertainment – they are experimenting with driving penetration with sports, (eg) market out of NFL – but they have a large user base of user generated (materials).
“It forms a large -scale funnel for them that they want to drive.
The Liberty Media has already been away from the model of the old Berney Eclestone-era of relying on traditional TVs. Netflix documentary series Drive to surviveLaunched in 2019, a fugitive success has been – not only in Europe, but also in America globally and also in America.
Most recently, Liberty Media completed Motogp’s acquisitionWhich means that the company now controls the commercial rights of both the major classes of both four and two-wheelers. If technical giants such as Apple or Google were to acquire F1’s streaming rights, Motogp could theoretically become part of a bundle super package for motorized fans.
Commercially, Formula 1 has never been healthy. In the first half of 2025, Formula One Group reported $ 1.6 billion in revenue and $ 442million in OIBDA – from $ 367million in the same period of 2024.
The real question is: Who can actually take the risk of buying Formula 1 from Liberty Media, especially given the fact that Liberty does not need to sell its current cashcoat?
With the PIF of Saudi Arabia, often the designated speculation as a potential contender continues, which already look into large -scale investment in football, golf and tennis.
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