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Russian GP promoter praises Liberty after critical FOPA statement

Russian GP promoter praises Liberty after critical FOPA statement

29-01-2019 16:25 Last update: 16:29
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Jake Williams-Smith

Promoters of the Russian Grand Prix have come to the defence of Liberty Media after the Formula One Promoters Association (FOPA) released a critical statement on how the commercial rights holders of F1 are handling the sport.

The FOPA statement revealed that the majority of promoters in Formula One are currently dissatisfied with how Liberty Media is handling the sport.

In the statement, three key issues were raised that 16 current Grands Prix wanted Liberty to address: the lack of free-to-air deals in place, unclear plans for the future and replacing historic venues with newer ones.

Not all promoters shared that view, however. Russian Grand Prix promoter Sergey Vorobyev told Motorsport.com that he was against the statement and felt that Liberty was being unfairly criticised for things that were either out of their control or actively working on fixing.

“All the issues indicated there, in this statement, they are being resolved one way or another in the current format of communication with Liberty. I don’t believe this (FOPA) approach to be constructive,” he said.

"I am sure there will be more of us in the coming days, weeks and months - are not members of FOPA.”

According to Reuters, Monaco, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Japan were the other Grands Prix that were distancing themselves from the statement made by British chairman of FOPA, Stuart Pringle.

Mexican Grand Prix head of marketing Rodrigo Sanchez also indicated via Twitter that he was supportive of Vorobyev's view.