Explained: What Liberty Media’s huge $4.8bn MotoGP takeover means for F1 fans

Liberty Media’s acquisition of Dorna, the company which holds the commercial rights to MotoGP, is a watershed moment for world motorsport.

The American organisation has revolutionised Formula 1, overseeing its incredible rise in popularity since purchasing it for $8 billion in 2017 and is expected to do the same for MotoGP.

Could Liberty Media’s MotoGP buy-out be a signal of intent to sell F1?

For two-wheel fans, Liberty Media’s involvement is a cause for great excitement. The organisation has learned a great deal from its time in Formula 1, and many of those lessons can be transferred over to MotoGP.

It’s estimated that Formula 1 is now worth approximately $27 billion, roughly tripling in value under Liberty’s watch.

During that time, the calendar has expanded, the asking price for events has increased, there has been a greater focus on corporate hospitality, an all-new and far more open approach to social media, and an embrace of new and emerging media like never before.

Though Drive to Survive is often cited as the catalyst for the current growth, there’s a good case to be made for the sport surging even without the Netflix docuseries. Undoubtedly, it has accelerated things, but it was just one element of Liberty’s efforts.

It just so happened that DTS coincided with a change of significant change in regulations, a dramatic period in the sport on track, and world events that forced everyone to stay home.

Liberty Media did what it could to position F1 well, but events well outside of its control also played a significant role in reaching new audiences.

The FIA should not be ignored in that either, as it ushered in radical new rules that have proven transformative both from a sporting and a financial standpoint.

Not too long ago, teams changed hands for a token $1 (plus debt, which was typically sizeable); they are now valued north of $1 billion for the most part.

That transformation is the result of several factors on the regulatory front. Technical regulations that have been crafted to encourage closer racing, and the introduction of financial rules have prevent teams simply spending their way out of trouble.

Where once there was a significant difference from the front of the grid to the back, such that those at the wrong end of the pack stood little chance of ever catching up, the playing field is now more level than it has ever been.

On top of that, a reworked Concorde Agreement offered a more even distribution of prize money from Liberty Media such that most, if not all teams, are now able to break even without too much stress – that some still post a loss is a result of investment elsewhere.

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Liberty Media was an integral part of working through all of those issues and developing solutions. It’s those lessons it can now apply to MotoGP.

Already, the championship is beginning to benefit simply from the potential Liberty’s involvement brings.

While the future involvement of KTM as a manufacturer remains uncertain, satellite operation Tech3 is fielding interest from potential investors keen to get in on the ground floor.

Former Haas boss, Guenther Steiner, has been linked with the squad and, when approached by PlanetF1.com, did not deny his interest.

As a racing product, MotoGP is widely acknowledged as having the most entertaining on-track competition. Its riders are fearless and the action spectacular.

That is a story that has not, to date, been well told – let alone sold.

Already, MotoGP employs Sprint races, a means of generating greater interest throughout the weekend. Liberty pulled that trick with F1 with success, but has been unable to convince the governing body (the FIA) to expand that beyond six races.

It is worth noting, those six events are thought to contribute as much as $3 million more for their event for the privilege of having a Sprint.

Liberty’s focus will be on understanding the areas of opportunity within the MotoGP business, as it did with F1 but with now the better part of a decade of motorsport experience under its belt.

Former Liberty CEO Greg Maffei stressed that the two competitions would be treated entirely separately with only the lessons learned in F1 being transferred across.

That means commercial bundling, scheduling, even the prospect of shared events are, in theory, off the table.

Whether than remains true is unclear given the European Commission approved the deal unconditionally, suggesting Liberty Media has carte blanche in the way it manages the interplay between the two assets.

Could we therefore see shared weekends with MotoGP and F1 on the same bill? Perhaps, though it makes little sense; the cost to a promoter would presumably be significantly higher, commensurate with hosting both world championships, while their ability to generate increased gate takings is comparatively small – if it exists at all.

There are also precious few venues where such a motorsport extravaganza is possible; the safety requirements for motorcycle and car racing are similar, but significantly different in their nuance.

It is also worth noting that there have long been suggestions that Formula One Management is for sale, with the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund allegedly tabling an offer somewhere north of $20 billion in early 2023 – rejected at the time.

Still rumours have persisted that discussions regarding a potential sale have taken place. Earlier this year, the Times went a step further and suggested Liberty was likely to take F1 to market next year.

All that begs the question; is the MotoGP acquisition a sign that Liberty is nearing the end of its journey with F1, and is looking to offload while the going is good?

There are suggestions tougher times are on the horizon, especially in a sporting sense, but even financially there are suggestions that things are not as full throttle as they once were.

Formula One Management generates its revenue through three primary sources: race hosting fees, television contracts, and a mix of corporate hospitality, trackside signage, and licensing.

With the calendar at 24 events, increasing hosting fees will only ever be incremental from this point. Television contracts may become more valuable as the audience grows, but that’s working to the assumption that will be the case.

Even still, those gains are likely to be comparatively incremental too; viewership figures in the United States hasn’t yet exploded in line with the general interest in the sport.

As it stands, FOM’s income for the past two years has been relatively stable, growing only by six per cent in 2024 over the year prior; 2020 aside, Liberty Media had seen an average revenue growth of 29 per cent to the end of 2023.

Figures were even down $104 million in the final quarter last year, impacted by an under-performing Las Vegas Grand Prix. For the first three months of 2025, income was down $150 million on the same period a year ago.

That would suggest a sport that is, financially, slowing down.

New regulations next year threaten to undermine the on-track action in the short-term before teams converge once more, as is typically seen during any regulatory cycle. It’s not unreasonable then to suggest the coming year or two will see a downturn in television audiences.

Perhaps now marks a good time to sell the business, taking that capital and using it to fund its efforts in developing MotoGP, where the growth potential is significantly higher than it is with F1, and pocketing a very healthy return in the process.

Whatever the case, F1 has enjoyed growth and success under Liberty Media’s stewardship and there is good cause for optimism for MotoGP fans.

Liberty Media has the experience and finances to catapult MotoGP into public consciousness like never before.

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