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Liberty Media CEO not worried about another financial blow to Formula 1

Liberty Media CEO not worried about another financial blow to Formula 1

28-02-2021 18:35 Last update: 18:46
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GPblog.com

The coronavirus and the national and international measures organised around it were not only felt on the grid and the empty stands last year, the financial blow was also huge. However, Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, believes that the financial damage suffered by his company will be limited to the 2020 season, seeing the situation largely return to normal in 2021.

Liberty Media, which has owned the Formula One circus since 2016, expects to have a largely restored housekeeping book when it comes to Formula One in 2021. Maffei is quoted by Motorsport.com as saying, “We expect a fairly normal broadcast revenue stream in light of our 23 races.”

Maffei stated that Liberty was aiming to take the biggest financial hit in 2020 in order to start the way back up in 2021: "Our goal was to try and take the pain in ‘20, to the degree that we rightly had to make concessions to some of our broadcasters – our goal was to do as much as possible make that a '20 event, and bring '21 back to normal.

"But we are in the business of trying to prepare to make sure we benefit when it does open, and that we're prepared if that doesn't happen at the rate of change or pace that we would like”, Maffei said. 

Predicting in the time of COVID

Nevertheless, the director also knows that predictions around COVID always need a disclaimer: "I have no crystal ball about exactly how COVID plays out ... [But] that  is our hope and our expectation. But COVID could change that, as a warning."