In the MotoGP, Lewis Hamilton? The seven-time world champion was among the first to indicate interest in purchasing a team, according to CEO Greg Maffei of Liberty Media, when the company revealed earlier this year that it wanted to take over the motorbike series Liberty Media discovered Lewis Hamilton effort to acquire a MotoGP team.
According to Maffei, Hamilton wanted to be among the first to see the development of MotoGP under new ownership since he recognized the value that Liberty Media brought to Formula One following its acquisition of the open-wheel sport in 2017.
Lewis Hamilton indicated a desire to purchase a MotoGP team.
In early 2024, Liberty Media declared its plan to acquire an 86% share in MotoGP operator Dorna Sports, in a transaction estimated to be worth around $4.2 billion. According to reports, the American business is hoping to expand its global sporting profile after successfully acquiring the Formula One Group in 2017.
However, at a recent Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Technology Conference, Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, elaborated on Liberty’s objectives for MotoGP and mentioned some of the well-known names already interested in participating.
According to Maffei
“we had people call up and say, I want to buy a team, including people like Lewis Hamilton,” as soon as Liberty Media announced its acquisition of Dorna.
“Why? because they want to follow after seeing what occurred in Formula 1.
Liberty Media made many significant adjustments to F1 after acquiring the race and working to develop the sport. While most fans will point to Netflix’s Drive to Survive docuseries as a major contribution to the sport, Liberty had already taken a number of steps to broaden and diversify Formula One’s global audience, even going so far as to rebrand the Formula One website and social media presence to feel more modern.
Because of this, Forbes calculated in January 2023 that F1’s worth had increased by an astounding 114% while it was under Liberty’s administration.
It seems sense that the motorbike-based sport would expand similarly if authorities accept Liberty’s acquisition of MotoGP. And maybe that’s what inspired Hamilton to get in touch.
“At a team level, in general, teams don’t cash flow as well,” Maffei said at the Goldman Sachs conference.
“It’s not absolutely true. NFL teams cash flow pretty well, but in general, we’re still too traditional in wanting that cash flow in addition your ability to change the dynamics, to set the stage and do the things that you want are far better, far easier, more manageable.”
“Still takes time, but you can get it done at the league level in a way that’s very difficult at the team level.” In July, Speed Cafe reported that Lewis Hamilton’s name had been linked to MotoGP’s Gresini Racing team.
Given that Hamilton already has a share in the NFL Denver Broncos franchise and the Extreme E team X44, purchasing a MotoGP team would not be out of character.