Liberty facing revolt as Silverstone lead promoters ready to quit F1
Liberty facing revolt as Silverstone lead promoters ready to quit F1
A group of F1 race promoters are preparing to confront the sport's owner Liberty Media. Led by Silverstone, the race officials are angry with Liberty over the handling of their contracts, with the Daily Mail reporting that they are threatening to leave the calendar.
The newspaper said the promoters met for a meeting in London to discuss the situation.
"Everyone is disgruntled. Liberty's ideas are disjointed," said Stuart Pringle, the Silverstone boss and head of the F1 promoters' group.
This year, the race contracts of Silverstone, Monza, Barcelona, Hockenheim and Mexico all expire.
"We have all been compliant and quiet hitherto, but we have great concerns about the future health of the sport under the people who run it now," Pringle added.
He admitted they are particularly angry about Liberty's handling of a potential race in Miami, even though a deal was not ultimately done, due to opposition from locals regarding the logistics of setting up the race in hurricane season.
In the initial discussions Miami's race fee was due to be waived and liability shared between track and Liberty, a significantly more appealing deal than the majority of other tracks receive.
"Miami are seemingly getting a free deal," said Pringle. "That has not gone down well with anyone, not least with the guys at Austin, Texas, who are working hard to make their race pay.
"If this continues, Formula One will be racing on second-rate circuits, if any at all."
Another issue has arisen around Liberty's preference for Pay-TV deals to boost revenues. Their recent switch to Sky Italia from previously free-to-air RAI saw a 53% revenue increase but viewing figures ther were down, and they have decreased steadily over the last decade as F1 signs more pay TV deals.
In a collaborative statement, the Formula One Promoters Association concluded that “it is not in the long term interest of the sport that fans lose free access to content and broadcasting.”
This news comes at a particularly precarious time for LIberty, and rumours have circulated that the owners may even be considering selling up, or exploring options which would welcome external investment.
MORE: Concerns raised over F1 pre-season conditions
MORE: 'F1 teams reject Liberty Media proposal'
Change your timezone:
Latest News
F1 Results Today: Chinese Grand Prix practice times as SURPRISE driver tops charts
- 1 hour ago
F1 News Today: Red Bull and Verstappen dealt title blow as bizarre FIRE halts Chinese GP practice
- 21 minutes ago
Chinese Grand Prix practice red flagged after BIZARRE fire
- 1 hour ago
F1 Chinese Grand Prix weather forecast - latest today from Shanghai
- 2 hours ago
Hamilton opens up on Wolff talks over Ferrari move as Verstappen SLAMS F1 decision - GPFans F1 Recap
- Today 00:27
F1 Sprint Qualifying Today: Chinese Grand Prix 2024 start times, schedule and TV
- Yesterday 23:27
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860