Just three years after they paid $8 billion for Formula One the new owners in Liberty Media are already thinking of letting go the competition or at least severely reducing their shares.
They started filed with enthusiasm, ready to tackle the giant problem of reforming the world’s premier car racing championship, but the mission, after three years of controversy and conflicts with the fans, team owners, and even drivers, seems more impossible each day. Faced with such difficulties, Liberty Media is allegedly ready to give up on the whole thing.
“Less than 3 years after Liberty Global acquired Formula One, the company is reportedly exploring scenarios that would decrease their stake in the international racing circuit; everything from an exit to the introduction of new equity partners in on the table,” one report says.
New owners’ grand plans of adding new races and sponsors didn’t come true, especially their efforts on increasing American participation by adding Miami Grand Prix. The local community turned them down and that ended the project.
The obvious choice to take over would be Bernie Ecclestone, who had voiced his displeasure and regretted the decision to sell the competition to Liberty Media in the first place. The question remains can he manage it again at the age of 88.
