Nine years since Liberty Media bought Formula One, the sport is up for sale. For nigh on a decade, investors have been piling into F1 through part-ownership deals and partnership arrangements, and values have skyrocketed.
To understand the significance of these massively increased valuations, take the Ferrari F1 racing team as an example.Back in 2017, Forbes estimated the worth of the team at just over $1bn. The latest figures from Sportico suggest the Ferrari Scuderia team is now valued at over $7bn.
Whilst Liberty Media too has done well in this era, their genius in turning the sport into one that is profitable for all was due to a number of breaks with tradition. Bernie Ecclestone’s model for F1 was to restrict access to the paddock and make it highly exclusive, which of course worked to some degree. Liberty, however, has taken advantage of the digital media surge and opened up the sport to whomever wants in.
No longer is the paddock a carefully restricted area; on race weekends, it is mobbed with wealthy fans who can afford Paddock Club hospitality, along with well-selected celebrities whose social media offerings spread the word amongst their millions of followers.
The number of US corporate partners has exploded threefold, and even the smallest of teams have their cars adorned with sponsors’ logos, unlike back in the mid-naughties. Further, F1 appears for now to have healed the rift between its governing body—the FIA—and the owners, which has traditionally been a fraught relationship.
The 2023 Saudi Bid and the FIA-Liberty Clash
As recently as 2023, financial publications such as Bloomberg were reporting a behind-the-scenes bid from the Saudi Public Investment Fund to buy F1 for a price tag in the region of $20bn. Liberty Media paid in the region of $5bn, when all debts and loans were consolidated, to buy the sport from CVC Capital Partners.
However, the news of the potential offer to buy the sport caused carnage between the FIA and its commercial rights holders. At the time, the Saudi fund was challenging the historic world of golf having pumped billions into its rival competition to the PGA—LIV Golf. So the reports of Saudi interest in acquiring F1 were credible based on the massive sports investments they were making.
Yet the news did not go down well with the FIA’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Reacting on Twitter, he warned of the negative consequences for F1 should such a price tag be under consideration. “As the custodians of motorsport, the FIA, as a non-profit organisation, is cautious about alleged inflated price tags of $20bn being put on F1,” Ben Sulayem said in the first of three tweets.
He went on to add: “Any potential buyer is advised to apply common sense, consider the greater good of the sport and come with a clear, sustainable plan — not just a lot of money.” In his final tweet, Ben Sulayem warned that such a price would require the sport to increase race hosting fees, the value of TV contracts, and ultimately the price fans pay to watch F1.
“It is our duty to consider what the future impact will be for promoters in terms of increased hosting fees and other commercial costs, and any adverse impact that it could have on fans,” he concluded. Liberty Media reacted furiously to the FIA president’s intervention, sending him a ‘cease and desist’ legal brief.
The content of Liberty’s threat of legal action inevitably found its way into the public domain, and it emphasised their exclusive rights under the 100-year contract for them to manage the commercial rights as they see fit.
It reminded the FIA president that “the FIA has given unequivocal undertakings that it will not do anything to prejudice the ownership, management and/or exploitation of those rights.” Further, that it was “unacceptable” that the FIA “interfere with our rights in an unacceptable manner”. They further stated, “any suggestion or implication to the contrary, or that any potential purchaser of the F1 business is required to consult with the FIA, is wrong.”
Ben Sulayem was threatened with legal action should his comments affect the market value of Liberty Media’s investment.
Leadership Shifts and the “Easy Money” Era
What a difference three years makes, given comments made this week by Liberty Media’s former president, Greg Maffei.
When asked by Kurt Badenhausen whether he believed Formula One would still be an openly investable stock in two years’ time, he replied: “I’ll say F1 is gone.” Whilst Maffei stood down from his role following rancour between him and Michael Andretti during Cadillac’s application process to join the sport, he remains in the loop.
His comments come following media baron John Malone stepping down from his role as chairman of Liberty Media Group and reducing his voting power from 48% to 3% through a share exchange scheme. So now the decisions over F1’s future remain predominantly with the shareholders and the board of directors, who should an offer is made be legally required to put it to the shareholders.
Since acquiring F1, Liberty Media added MotoGP to its sports portfolio in a deal believed to be in the region of $5bn.Since floating their sports non-voting stock, which trades under the ticker FWONK on the Nasdaq, Liberty’s valuation has grown threefold, closing on Monday at $108.94 and giving it a market capitalisation in the region of $28bn.
However, Maffei believes the low-hanging fruit has been harvested by Liberty Media, and whilst the sport will continue to grow in value, it will be at a much slower rate than since its acquisition. The teams refuse to race more than their current 24 weekends a year, which is up from 19 races in 2015, and most of the lucrative markets in the Middle East and the USA have been thoroughly exploited.
“The easy money’s been made,” says Maffei. “The EBITDA is up 3x in eight or nine years. It’s not going to go up 3x again in the next eight or nine years.”
The Next Frontier: Streaming and the Future Sale
Formula One’s next big jump in income could come from F1TV. Currently, the sport runs a hybrid model where broadcasting rights are sold to certain regional broadcasters, while F1TV fills in the blanks around the world.
The recent deal with AppleTV to broadcast F1 in the USA has paved the way for a long-term future where F1TV and Apple control the global broadcasting rights to the sport. The current valuation of the media rights paid is in the region of $1.2bn, Liberty Media has revealed, which is approximately a third of its income.
Given F1 is the most watched annual sport in the world and ranks only behind the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics—which are held every four years—its subscription charges for 800 million eyeballs could be way in excess of the media broadcasting rights it currently receives.
Unlike back in 2023, there has been no backlash from the FIA over the news F1 may well be sold in the next two years.Presumably, a deal has been done which would see F1’s governing body receive substantial remuneration for not opposing any offer made to acquire the commercial rights deal, which currently runs to 2110.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
