Multiple billion-dollar worth F1 is up for sale 'at the right price, claims Liberty

F1 could be up for sale once again, as hinted by Liberty Media chairman John Malone. The multi-billion-dollar motorsports industry was acquired by Liberty back in 2017 for $8 billion, and being a public company, it could be up for sale again.

Since Liberty Media's takeover of the sport, Formula 1 has witnessed many changes. The sport has gone through a global expansion, making it more popular in the Middle East and the USA, with multiple races held in both regions throughout a season. Changes have also been made to the race formats, with the introduction of the Sprint race system. These changes have witnessed a major increase in the overall revenue, and F1's stock prices have also significantly increased.

Despite the success, the sport could be sold once again, as confirmed by Liberty chairman John Malone.

"It's a public company," he said (via Motorsport). "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."

At the same time, he has a strong belief that the sport is performing well under Liberty Media. Malone claimed that the shareholders are quite happy with how Formula 1 has been growing in the past years, with emphasis on the increasing revenue.

"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 cashflow generator, which underwrites its high valuation. And there, perhaps, will be incremental synergistic add-ons. It still has a big brand to drive."

Along with the major changes introduced in Formula 1 in recent years, there could be a key change in the races, as recently hinted by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

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F1 CEO hints at shortening races, making them more entertaining for "younger viewers"

Formula 1 introduced changes to the race weekend format earlier with the introduction of the Sprint weekends, as mentioned. Two of the three practice sessions were scrapped in a bid to make the entire weekend more entertaining.

However, more could be on the plate, as CEO Stefano Domenicali recently hinted. He claimed that the races might be "too long" for the new generation to watch, further claiming that most of those viewers only watch the highlights.

"There’s the issue of race length: we believe it’s a bit too long for younger viewers,'' he said. ''We’re seeing on many of our channels that highlight reels are hugely popular—perhaps for those of us who grew up with the full format it’s fine, but a large portion of the audience only wants to see the key moments.''

He added:

''Things are going very well today, but precisely because of that, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels; we need to think about the next step forward."

This statement could potentially mean that F1 is planning to chop down on the race weekends further, with a possible reduction in race length. However, there has been no further development on the same.