Former Liberty boss Maffei predicts F1 could be sold within two years

Formula 1's remarkable commercial ascent may be approaching another defining moment, with former Liberty Media chief executive Greg Maffei suggesting the championship could be taken off the stock market within the next two years.

His pointed forecast arrives just days after Liberty founder John Malone surrendered most of his voting power in the company – a development that has sharpened questions about the sport’s future and whether a sale could be on the horizon.

Speaking at Sportico's Invest New York 2026 conference earlier this week, Maffei was asked whether F1 would still be publicly traded in 2028. His response was strikingly direct.

“I’ll say F1 is gone,” he replied.

Maffei’s forecast rests on a cold, hard financial reality. The American executive led Liberty when it acquired Formula 1 from CVC Capital in January 2017 for around $4.6 billion. He argued that much of the championship's financial growth has already been captured.

Maffei led Liberty Media when it acquired Formula 1 from CVC Capital in January 2017 for around $4.6 billion. He argued that much of the championship's financial growth has already been captured.

“The easy money’s been made. The EBIDTA (Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is up three times in eight or nine years,” he added.

“It’s not going to go up three times again in the next eight or nine years.”

Since Liberty's takeover, F1's share price has climbed around 250%, helped by Drive to Survive and the championship's expansion in the United States and Middle East.

The championship is now valued at close to $28 billion, with Maffei suggesting a transaction could approach $30 billion. Its commercial reach continues to expand, with Rwanda expected to join the calendar in the early 2030s and a return to Malaysia also being discussed.

Malone's voting power shift adds a new twist

Maffei’s remarks land amid intense scrutiny over Liberty Media’s internal governance. In early November, the company executed a pivotal stock swap with Malone, who stepped down as chairman earlier this year after founding the media giant in 1991.

Prompted by “a number of unsolicited offers from third parties” looking to buy Malone’s controlling stake, Liberty repurchased his high-vote shares and exchanged them for low-vote stock.

The move slashed Malone’s voting power from roughly 48 percent down to 3 percent.

During Liberty’s Q3 earnings call, current president and CEO Derek Chang noted that Malone had previously “controlled a significant set of votes with a relatively low economic interest.”

Reclaiming those shares, Chang said, “helps us effectively control our own destiny forward”—a shift that concentrates future decision-making power, including any potential sale, squarely in the hands of broader shareholders.

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While Chang insists there is no immediate plan to offload F1 in 2026 – emphasizing instead a commitment to growing existing assets, which now include an 84 percent stake in MotoGP’s commercial rights holder Dorna – the door has never been entirely shut.

Last year, Malone candidly told the Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast that if a suitor, such as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, “gets carried away” and offers more than the board can deliver to shareholders, “then we would sell it.”

For now, Formula 1 remains officially silent on Maffei's prophecy, leaving the paddock to wonder who might be preparing to write the biggest check in motorsport history.

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