Liberty Media claims it got ‘very lucky’ to acquire F1 from Bernie Ecclestone to open up the sport to social media

Liberty Media acquired the commercial rights of F1 from Bernie Ecclestone in 2017.

Liberty Media claims it got ‘very lucky’ to acquire F1 from Bernie Ecclestone to open up the sport to social media

Greg Maffei(L) and Bernie Ecclestone(R), via IMAGO

F1 was known as a rich man’s sport in the early days of the series. Bernie Ecclestone was the FOM head and its commercial rights holder for many decades but witnessing the slowing progress of the sport, he sold it to Liberty Media. Recently, the media company’s President, Greg Maffei deemed the acquisition to be very lucky as the sport was later opened up to social media betting on the untapped potential of modern technologies.

Bernie Ecclestone became F1’s chief in the 1970s. This change of leadership saw the 93-year-old shuffle the broadcasting rights of the open-wheel series between his companies. However, Ecclestone was quite conservative in his operational model, and the growth of the pinnacle of motorsport slowly began declining. Subsequently, F1’s evaluation started plummeting, and the Brit had to sell it to Liberty Media, who bought it for $4.4 billion in 2017.

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Opportunising on F1’s slowing growth, Greg Maffei explained how acquiring the sport from Bernie Ecclestone was lucky for them.

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Frankly, I think it's only gotten better than we would have hoped. I'd like to think we made some smart moves, but I also think we got very lucky. There's been some great racing. There's been some great storytelling, not only with Drive to Survive, but what the drivers have done themselves on social media, something we helped them open up that wasn't really allowed before.
Greg Maffei said on the James Allen on F1 podcast

The American elaborated that after acquiring F1, they were able to open up the premier series to social media. Moreover, with this change along with the advent of Drive To Survive in 2019, F1 witnessed unprecedented growth, and Liberty Media’s investment skyrocketed overnight.

Liberty Media’s president gives his verdict on F1’s relations with FIA

Despite taking over F1’s commercial rights, the disputes between FOM and FIA have been on the rise. Witnessing such issues, multiple experts claimed that FOM might disassociate themselves from FIA entirely. To calm down the situation, multiple measures were taken between the two organizations to form a peaceful relationship.

Greg Maffei, via IMAGO
Greg Maffei, via IMAGO

The 64-year-old explained how FOM would be working in tandem with FIA.

It's incumbent upon us to continue to thrive, [and] ensure that we have a good relationship with the regulator. At various times, we've had disagreements, ensuring that we're moving in the right direction. You know, those are the kinds of things that I think about at night.
Greg Maffei said on the James Allen on F1 podcast

Maffei elaborated that it was up to FOM to ensure that they have a symbiotic relationship with FIA. He acknowledged that they had quite a few disagreements recently, but asserted that both organizations have to work together to benefit each other mutually and help the series grow worldwide.

Despite his claims, F1 recently rejected Andretti-Cadillac‘s bid to enter F1. Moreover, their bid was accepted by FIA’s selection committee, and observing such discrepancies between the two organizations, a feud might be in the making behind closed doors.

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