Saudi Arabia has allegedly made a massive offer to Liberty Media to host an F1 Grand Prix in the city of Riyadh in the near future.
According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Saudi Arabia is offering $60 million for the right to organize a round of the F1 world championship in the country's capital, a hefty amount that must have surely got Liberty Media's full attention.
While Riyadh would be the venue of choice for an F1 Grand Prix, no specific location for a track has yet been determined.
Saudi Arabia is eager to jump on the F1 bandwagon as part of its Vision 2030 plan, a strategic social, economic and cultural program spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman which ambitions to diversify the oil-rich kingdom's revenue streams and promote international tourism.
Riyadh recently hosted motorsport's annual Race of Champions event and the opening round of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship.
As enticing and lucrative as Saudi Arabia's offer may be for Formula 1, it's likely to generate controversy among the public and the sport's fans given the conservative country's poor human rights record and the shortfalls of bin Salman's reforms.
However, Liberty Media will likely remain tone deaf to the criticism, and humbly accept the big bucks that could come its way.
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