Liberty Media is no longer ruling out a sale of F1
Liberty Media chairman John Malone is no longer ruling out a sale of F1. For the first time, he has outlined the conditions under which Liberty would consider making such a move.
Liberty formally took control of the sport ahead of the 2017 season, after a $8bn takeover deal was agreed with CVC Capital Partners in 2016, and was given approval by US, UK and EU regulators. In 2023, rumours circulated about a takeover bid from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), reportedly worth $20 billion, though no official confirmation was ever given.
Since taking over, Liberty has not only driven F1’s global expansion but also taken the championship public. The NASDAQ-listed FWONK stock has multiplied in value, rising from about $30 per share in 2017 to roughly $100 today. FOM made $1.6bn in revenue in the first half of 2025.
He told Opening Bid Unfilled podcast, “It’s a public company. If somebody gets carried away and they want to buy it and they’re willing to pay more for it than the board thinks that they can deliver to the shareholders, then we would sell it.”
Adding, “I think the shareholders seem to love it right at the moment. It’s really performing well. It has exceptionally good economic structure. It will be a very large free cash flow generator, which underwrites its high valuation. And there, perhaps, will be incremental synergistic add-ons. It still has a big brand to drive.”
Liberty Media was led by Greg Maffei as CEO. When Maffei stepped down, Malone temporarily assumed the role himself, bringing back familiar faces like Chase Carey, former F1 CEO, to the board. In February, Malone appointed Derek Chang as Liberty’s new CEO and, for now, things are going great.
Under the leadership of Carey’s successor, former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali, F1 has recently secured a string of commercial successes. Long-term contract extensions were announced for several circuits, including Miami and Spielberg, which are both locked in until 2041.
Major partnerships were also signed with global brands such as Aramco, AWS (Amazon), PepsiCo, MSC Cruises, and Crypto.com.
While there is a bidding war apparently underway in the US when ESPN / ABC deal ends in December. This could see the sport leave TV with Apple which made the F1 Movie fighting with Netflix which makes Drive to Survive fighting for rights.
Malone is convinced the television landscape will undergo radical change in the years ahead. Without explicitly tying this to F1, he noted, “I think social networking eventually also becomes streaming entertainment.
“I think you’re seeing the beginnings of that with Google’s YouTube, where effectively they have the combination of subscription entertainment, but they have a massive user base of user-generated [content].”
Liberty has been moving away over the last eight years towards streaming, alongside traditional linear TV, while in key markets maintains a form of free-to-air coverage. Its purchase of MotoGP and WSB could in theory could create a super sport streaming platform.
Dunne to make a second FP1 outing
Alex Dunne will make his second FP1 outing on Friday at Monza. The Irishman made his practice debut at the Red Bull Ring in June, where he finished fourth a tenth behind Oscar Piastri.
The nineteen-year-old was the first Irish driver to compete in an F1 weekend in twenty-two years and will also continue his F2 campaign in Monza, where he is fifth in the standings. He said, “I’m super excited to be back for my second FP1 with McLaren in Monza this weekend.”
“My first one in Austria was an extremely special day for me so to do it again at Monza, a track which is so historic, is going to be put a big smile on my face, so really looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can build and improve upon what was a strong outing in Austria and help Lando and Oscar as much as possible going into the Grand Prix.”
The regulations require that each driver, expect Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoletto and Kimi Antonelli, as they had not made two starts before 2025, to miss two practice sessions in favour of rookies.
McLaren have already announced IndyCar star Pato O’Ward will get an outing at his home event in Mexico City in October and are likely to complete the rookie requirements in Abu Dhabi with a driver yet to be confirmed.
Dunne is currently fifth in the F2 championship with three rounds to go after this weekend in Baku, Lusail and Abu Dhabi in December.
Hamilton ‘very shocked’ by grid penalty and ‘very motivated’
Lewis Hamilton returns to Italy for his first race at Monza as a Ferrari driver following a mixed season. Though the seven-time champion is tied on five wins with Michael Schumacher, the temple of speed has brought mixed fortunes for him being in 2019, but this is also where he has regularly retired.
Hamilton and Ferrari are yet to win a grand prix this season, and Hamilton has been outperformed by team-mate Charles Leclerc throughout the campaign so far. There has been scepticism about his lasting performance in the run-up to the summer break, and following a pre-race incident on Sunday at Zandvoort for going too fast on his way to the grid, he carries a five-place grid penalty.
Following last weekend’s race he said, “There’s obviously a huge amount of pressure on us as a team. More so for me now because I haven’t had a good season. Next week we’ll just try to absorb all the energy from the fans.”
This won’t be Hamilton’s first grand prix in Italy as a Ferrari driver, as the Imola round took place in back in May; he finished fourth at the time. However, Leclerc was keen to point out his new teammate was still going to be “shocked” by the Monza atmosphere.
“I think our first experiences [at Monza as Ferrari drivers] are going to be very different because Lewis has lived so many incredible moments already. I’m pretty sure that he will still be shocked by how special this week feels, but he’s gone through a lot more than what I had done back then.”
“I just came from Sauber; to win in Monza with Ferrari was just unbelievable. It was all at once, and it was quite crazy. But the Monza experience is unique for every driver – and especially the first one.” A win at Monza, while it looks difficult on paper for Ferrari, can’t be ruled out given there have been surprise wins in three of the last five races, including Leclerc’s win last season.
Performance-wise, Leclerc isn’t feeling overoptimistic, with a repeat of his popular 2019 and 2024 victories rather unlikely given how dominant McLaren has been.
He pondered, “I hope that one of us will win. That would be very special. I don’t think we are the favourites, but we never know. I mean, the energy and the atmosphere there are just very, very special.”
Still waiting for his first Ferrari Grand Prix podium after fifteen races in motorsport’s most famous red, Hamilton admitted his first year at Maranello had been an “emotional rollercoaster” and proved more “volatile in terms of the feeling” than he envisaged.
But he was optimistic that they were getting to the end of the tunnel, as he looked buoyed by the “unique experience” of attending a Ferrari event in central Milan on Wednesday night alongside team-mate Charles Leclerc in front of several thousand fans.
Red Bull Racing Bulls fight “shouldn’t be happening” – Verstappen
Max Verstappen has declared that the battle with sister team Racing Bulls “shouldn’t be happening.” Last weekend, the Dutchman spent much of the race fighting for third with Isack Hadjar, though Lando Norris’s late retirement meant both drivers finished on the podium.
Despite finishing the race on soft tyres when the McLarens ran on hard rubber, Verstappen’s fastest lap was six and a half tenth slower than race winner Oscar Piastri’s. “McLaren is on another level. I don’t even compare myself with that.”
Verstappen told Viaplay, “Of course, happy to be on the podium, but in terms of speed, it wasn’t good. I think it was purely down to qualifying that I was third in the race, because in terms of speed it really wasn’t there.”
Despite finishing the race on soft tyres when the McLarens ran on hard rubber, Verstappen’s fastest lap was six and a half tenths slower than race winner Oscar Piastri’s. “McLaren is on another level, I don’t even compare myself with that,?”
Though Verstappen briefly took second early on, when Norris retook second, the gap between him and Hadjar for the majority of the race was no more than three seconds, under a green flag. That is what concerns him, as he pointed out Red Bull spent the who they shouldn’t be fighting on pure pace.
This season, Red Bull has regularly struggled to unleash the full potential of its RB21 this year due to narrow set-up windows. In Zandvoort, Verstappen diverged from his rivals on strategy by not running the hard compound in the race, due to the tyre ‘really feeling terrible’ in Friday practice.
He appeared to struggle with mechanical grip on the soft and medium tyres compared to others, thus making him slower in the corners and thus taking longer to reach top speed.
Verstappen added, “The car is just not fast enough. I also had to save a lot in those fast corners. While everyone goes through Turns Seven and Eight much faster, I have no grip. That’s obviously not good. Of course, in qualifying it was better over one lap, but this season the car is just not good in the race.”
Hadjar wants “easier” step up to Red Bull
Isack Hadjar says it would be “easier” to step up to Red Bull’s senior team for the start of F1’s rules revolution in 2026 than has been the case, as speculation intensifies that he is in line for promotion next season.
The Frenchman’s solid rookie season took another solid step five days ago in Zandvoort, where he took his first podium. That made him the fourth driver in Racing Bulls various names over the last two decades to stand on the podium.
With Yuki Tsunoda, who finished ninth at Zandvoort, continuing to face an uncertain future as Max Verstappen’s teammate, Hadjar is clearly the alternative candidate were Red Bull to make a change ahead of the 2026 season when F1’s chassis and engine regulations are being completely overhauled.
Tsunoda has followed Liam Lawson, Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly over the past six years in struggling in world champion Verstappen’s shadow, Hadjar has explained why he believes joining next year would be different.
Hadjar told reporters at Monza, “At the start of the year, you were asking me if I was feeling ready to jump in the Red Bull this year, and the answer is still ‘no’. I don’t see the point of doing that right now.”
“But ’26 is a different question because it’s a brand-new start for the team, there won’t be this talk of a ‘second car thing’. This won’t be a thing because it’s a brand-new car for everyone. You actually will be in a phase where you need to direct the car into the right direction, so I think this is actually interesting.”
Hadjar believes that moving to the senior team would be “way easier” to manage because of the reset in the regulations and it will be a new car for everyone.
And although he says he has had no discussions as yet with Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, about any step up, he made clear he would have no reservations about it were he to eventually receive a call-up.
He added, “It’s obviously something I have in mind; there’s nine races left to prove I can do a very good job. I want to drive for the best team. That’s all I want, really.”
Talking Points Monza
Round sixteen brings F1 back to northern Italy for the closing round of the traditional European season at Monza. Since 1950, Monza has featured on the calendar every season apart from 1980.
It is known as ‘The Temple of Speed’ as the cars hit over 200mph on the long straights, where raw engine power and low drag is vital, given the rest of the 3.6-mile track is only made up of three chicanes and three other right-hand turns.
Four days on from his late retirement at Zandvoort, eyes will be on Lando Norris as he looks to close the thirty-four point lead of his teammate Oscar Piastri with nine weekends remaining.
Since the collision in Montreal and his retirement last weekend, Norris has appeared to have the slight edge the majority of the time winning three of the four races and finished second in the other. It will be key how he responds to that gap in the coming two weeks.
How Norris responds to that disappointment will be a significant aspect of this coming weekend, with the Briton having said the margin could actually allow him to drive more freely. Norris said, “It’s only made it harder for me and put me under more pressure. But it’s almost a big enough gap now that I can just chill out about it and just go for it.”
The mindset is one thing, but delivering the results is another, and Norris will be keen to start his fightback immediately by ensuring the gap is reduced to some degree by the end of the weekend in Monza.
It was also a nightmare for the Italian’s, both Ferraris retired along with Kimi Antonell. Lewis Hamilton crashed out and Antonelli crashed into Charles Leclerc, taking him out of the race. To make matters worse, Hamilton was given a five-grid place penalty for Monza after he went too quick under double-waved yellow flags on the reconnaissance laps to the grid in Zandvoort.
Isack Hadjar was the main benefactor from Norris’s retirement as he continued his strong rookie season, having not scored since Barcelona. But that run was emphatically ended with a stunning podium from fourth on the grid in Zandvoort, propelling Hadjar into the heart of the conversation for a Red Bull seat. If he can follow up with another impressive performance in Monza this weekend, momentum will really build for the Frenchman.
Ferrari always faces pressure at Monza but they come into this off the back of a tough Zandvoort, where both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton retired. Last season, they grew in competitiveness following the summer break, but they are yet to win a Grand Prix this season.
Leclerc took a hugely impressive win in Monza a year ago, making a one-stop strategy work to hold off the two McLaren drivers, but this time around, the team arrives at their home race already on the back foot. Despite the retirements, they did so strong pace and will be looking to, and often find a way to challenge for victory at Monza.
If the home crowd can’t manifest a Ferrari victory on Sunday, then they will be trying to do so for an Italian driver instead, with Kimi Antonelli returning to the scene of his first FP1 outing a year ago. He has shown so progress before the collision with Leclerc in Zandvoort, and his home race at Imola also saw him retire.
It wasn’t only Hadjar who had a strong race from the midfield, Alex Albon secured fifth, ahead of Ollie Bearman’s career-best sixth from a pit lane start. That was part of a double-points score for Haas with Esteban Ocon tenth, while the two Aston Martins also scored in the top eight.
While it changed very little in the fight for fourth downwards in the constructors, it highlighted how close the fight will be over the remaining nine rounds.
Williams lodge protest over Sainz penalty
Williams have requested a review of Carlos Sainz’s penalty for his controversial collision with Liam Lawson in Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix. The Spaniard tried to overtake the Racing Bull around the outside of Hugenholtz following the safety car restart, but they made contact and both drivers received punctures.
The stewards gave Sainz a ten-second time penalty and two penalty points on his super licence which the Spaniard declared a “complete joke” after the race.
They gave him the penalty after deciding Sainz’s front axle was not ahead of Lawson’s which meant the Racing Bulls driver had “the right to the corner” therefore, Sainz was “wholly or predominantly to blame”. Sainz finished thirteenth in Zandvoort and although his ten-second time penalty cannot be reversed, his two penalty points can.
A statement said, “We can confirm we have submitted a right of review to the FIA relating to Carlos’ penalty in Zandvoort. It is important for us to understand how to go racing in future, and we are hopeful of a positive outcome.”
In the press conference at Monza, Sainz said, he spoke to the stewards after Zandvoort and alluded that they admitted the penalty was wrong. He said, “It was very clear to me that as soon as they got all the evidence right and they looked at the places they needed to take the right decision, it was clear to me that I think they realised probably the decision taken wasn’t the best one.”
“Now we are trying to see if we can come up with enough evidence to change the outcome of the penalty, because I still firmly believe it was a very poor penalty I received and a bad judgment, which can happen as long as you have the capacity to revisit it.”
“If there’s been a misunderstanding or a lack of evidence or analysis, then there is still time to re-analyse it, reopen it, and change it. I do believe they had a very difficult Sunday looking back at it.”
Williams lodged the protest on Thursday and to be successful they must provide a “significant and relevant new element” that was unavailable at the time the decision was made for it to be overturned.
