F1
Saudi Arabia interested in buying F1?
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is on the calendar until 2027. © DPPI
Two years after the appearance of Jeddah on the calendar of the Formula 1, Saudi Arabia would see itself buying the commercial rights to the championship from Liberty Media. According to Bloomberg, the Saudi public investment fund would have submitted a $20 billion offer to owner Liberty Media in early 2022.
The Americans, who have held the rights since 2017, actually refused the offer, explaining that they were simply not inclined to sell. The media also details that the PIF (Saudi investment fund) would remain interested if Liberty Media were to change its mind in the coming months.
Saudi Arabia, development through sport
As a reminder, this investment fund has become increasingly active in the world of sport in recent years, notably with the purchase of the English football club Newcastle United, which now has additional resources to fight for qualifying places. for the champions league.
Likewise, the Saudis have shown interest in also buying the world-famous wrestling franchise known as WWE and have recently hosted major international sporting events in the fields of boxing, golf and of F1. Like Qatar, which has just organized the Football World Cup, or the United Arab Emirates, which notably owns the Manchester City club, the countries of the Middle East are trying to exist and influence via the sport.
Saudi Arabia soon at the head of F1? © Antonin Vincent / DPPI
Since Liberty Media's acquisition of the commercial rights to F1 in 2017 for $4,4 billion, the sport has gained enormously in attractiveness and value, thanks in particular to the Netflix series. drive to survive, to the knife battle for the title between Max Verstappen et Lewis Hamilton in 2021, and more recently to the new technical and aerodynamic regulations which have allowed drivers to follow each other more closely and therefore the show to be more attractive.
So much so that a new audience of fans from Asia but especially the United States took a liking to Formula 1 and allowed the audience to grow in large proportions. F1 is on the rise, but by refusing the Saudi offer five times higher than the sum paid during its acquisition, Liberty Media is taking the risk that its assets will lose value in the coming years. A risk which nevertheless seems, in view of the current situation, quite low.
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Jeremy Satis
Great F1 reporter & passionate about promotional formulas
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22/01/2023 at 02:19 a.m.
Between the MBS of the FIA and the other MBS with bloody hands, they will perhaps end up agreeing on the backs of the Liberty Media Yankees. If F1 falls into the hands of Saudi petro-dollars, there is reason to fear a real global boycott movement against the bloody soft power of the Saudi MBS!
dedeHJ37
21/01/2023 at 02:20 a.m.
with President Ben Sulayem we must not expect anything else, he will push the wheel and the Americans who want to have everything (up to 3 GPs and too bad for France) will have to give in one day!