$8 billion and F1 could be yours as Liberty Media aims to sell sport for high profit - Reports

Liberty Media is interested in selling the rights of F1 for around $8 billion.

According to SPORT1, Liberty Media who bought the rights for the sport in 2017 for $4.4 billion is interested in selling them for around $8 billion.

According to the report, one of the reasons behind the escalating conflict between F1 and the FIA is because of the incessant meddling by the FIA president Mohammad Ben Sulayem. That reached an all-new level when Ben Sulayem decided to publicly address a Bloomberg report about a possible sale of the sport on Twitter.

The report said:

"According to SPORT1 information, Liberty Media is quite interested in returning the rights acquired in 2017 for around eight billion dollars in order to make a high profit."

Explaining the rising conflict, it added:

"Ben Sulayem, meanwhile, strutted in without being asked. 'As the guardian of motorsport, the FIA, as a non-profit organization, is cautious when it comes to inflated price tags of allegedly $ 20 billion for Formula 1,' tweeted the Dubai native. What's more, he urged the Saudis to use their common sense, think about the good of the sport and come up with a clear, sustainable plan - not just a lot of money."

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Liberty media's leadership has taken F1 to a whole new level

Liberty media's leadership has helped the sport grow on a whole new level. The F1 grid now has ten healthy teams that are not necessarily cash-strapped. There has been an increase in revenue as well as an opening up of the sport to new geographies.

The sport has conquered the American market for the first time and will have as many as three races in the country this season (Austin, Miami and Las Vegas). Not only that but what is more interesting is how drivers have gained prominence all over the globe. They are celebrities in a way F1 drivers have never been before.

Drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were always global stars, but now young drivers like Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Lando Norris, and Carlos Sainz have become celebrities in their own rights.

A lot of that has to do with the steps taken by Liberty Media to bring fans closer to the action. Be it behind the scenes footage from the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive or a bigger emphasis on social media.

One could argue that the work is still not over for Liberty Media as it strives to take the sport to where it could be, but it could also be a profitable business decision for them to sell F1 now.