Formula One or simply F1 is the most popular motorsports racing event, find out who are the owner behind the sport and learn about its rising popularity in recent years along with the net worth of Liberty Media Corp
F1 is the highest level of single-seat, open-wheel, and open-cockpit professional motor racing featuring the highest speeds, and the fastest laps in motorsport.
Who is Liberty Media Corp owner of F1 and what is its net worth 2023
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund explored purchasing Formula 1, per @business.
F1 owner Liberty Media was not interested in selling, despite the Saudis valuing the franchise "well above" $20 billion. pic.twitter.com/hCyG862M5K
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 20, 2023
The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile or the International Automobile Federation) is an international body that sanctions and governs F1.
Who are the owners of F1?
On the surface F1 may look like an independent sport, governed by the FIA and its CEO, Stefano Domenicali. However, this is not so, instead, an American mass media company called Liberty Media owns the entire Formula One Group.
The massive brand has owned the sport for over six years now. Moreover, Liberty Media Corporation also owns the Braves Group and SiriusXM Group besides the Formula One group.
A major change in ownership
Back in late 2016, Liberty Media bought the Formula One Group for a massive $4.4 billion. By the time, they finalized and completed the deal in January 2017, Delta Topco, the previous owners, transferred 100% of its shares to Liberty Media for around $4.6 billion.
Following the acquisition, Liberty Media appointed Chase Carey as the CEO of F1. However, in 2020, Stefano Domenicali the former Ferrari team boss quickly replaced him. Carey however, still works under F1 as a non-executive chairman.
The major change in ownership brought a number of massive changes to F1. The company took many steps forward to make the sport more modern. One of the most significant changes was making a drastic change in the look of the sport. The new owners rebranded the logo, font, TV graphics, audio stings, etc.
The estimated net worth of Liberty Media Corp is at least $25,361 Million dollars and it is the 10% Owner of Sirius XM Holdings Inc and owns about 1,999,291,236 shares of Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) stock worth over $11,676 Million. Liberty Media Corp is the 10% Owner of Charter Communications Inc and owns about 24,285,526 shares of Charter Communications Inc (CHTR) stock worth over $9,648 Million and is also the Director, 10% Owner of Live Nation Entertainment Inc and owns about 53,745,033 shares of Live Nation Entertainment Inc (LYV) stock worth over $4,037 Million,
Maffei serves as President and CEO of Liberty Media Corporation, which owns media and entertainment businesses, including subsidiaries Formula 1, SiriusXM and the Atlanta Braves. Liberty Media is an American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone.
Growing online fan base
Besides changing the looks of the sport, Liberty Media also increased the sport’s reach online. The company used various social media platforms and video streaming platforms to increase their fan base online.
Liberty Media launched F1 TV, which allowed fans to stream all F1 live on any device. Another major step was the deal with Netflix, to create a Netflix original web series titled Drive to Survive. This web series helped expand the fanbase drastically with more people taking an interest in the exciting sport.
Ross Brawn on F1’s rise in popularity under Liberty Media
Ross Brawn, who is the former managing director of F1’s sporting side, praised Liberty Media for F1’s booming popularity. Brawn explained how Liberty Media has made its focus on improving the sport as a whole, instead of targeting profit margins. He was quoted as saying:
I think Liberty have done a great job. I would say this, but they employed me! And while I say that, they recognised that they wanted to improve the sport.
Brawn also mentioned how he felt privileged to be involved in improving F1’s current status. Following Liberty Media’s acquisition of Formula One Group, Brawn has served as the managing director, as well as motor sports and technical director.
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