Formula 1: Greg Maffei steps down as owner of Liberty Media at an important time for the sport

Greg Maffei will step down from his role as president and CEO of Formula 1 owner Liberty Media at the end of this year.

The 64-year-old American has played a crucial role in the development of F1 since the American company Liberty bought the commercial rights in 2017.

His role will be taken over on an interim basis by Liberty Media chairman John Malone from January 1, while Maffei will remain “to support the management transition”.

Maffei is leaving at an important time for F1 as the commercial deals tying the teams to the sport are being renegotiated before they expire at the end of 2025.

The sport is also facing an investigation from the US Department of Justice, external due to the rejection of a registration bid from the American racing organization Andretti.

This has led to tensions within Liberty-owned F1 Management in recent months, sources acknowledge, although these have now subsided and Maffei’s departure has nothing to do with the Andretti saga.

There has also been a lot of commotion in recent weeks with the departure of long-time F1 lawyer Sacha Woodward-Hill, a former confidante of former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who was removed when Liberty took over the sport.

Maffei has played a central role in securing a more productive relationship with governing body the FIA, after chairman Mohammed Ben Sulayem was involved in a series of controversial moves that stunned F1 and its teams.

These have continued in other areas on the sporting side, but Ben Sulayem has stayed away from commercial matters over the past year following an intervention from Maffei.

His departure will place more responsibility on F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali, who has led the commercial side of the sport under Maffei since 2021.

In recent months, following a restructuring of Liberty’s stock, Maffei has lost some of his responsibilities within the company, including the Atlanta Braves baseball team and radio station SiriusXM.

Maffei said: “All of Liberty’s acquisitions completed during my tenure are now in structures where shareholders can have more direct ownership.

“The corporate structure has been optimized and the portfolio companies are in strong positions and have talented management teams. While it is never easy to leave an organization as dynamic as Liberty, I am confident that now is the right time .”

Malone said: “Since joining in 2005, Greg has been at the forefront of the exciting evolution of Liberty’s life cycle.

“He grew our asset base and made the company better and more valuable to shareholders, all while overseeing as many as five separate publicly traded companies.

“Especially after today’s transaction announcements, our business is simpler and more focused than ever before, which is a perfect capstone to Greg’s successful career at Liberty.”

Maffei is the fourth senior executive to leave Liberty Media since taking over F1.

Chase Carey, who was named chairman and CEO when Liberty took over, stepped down at the end of 2020 after orchestrating a restructuring of the sport, handing the baton to Domenicali.

Former Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn, appointed managing director by Carey in 2017, left his position in 2022.

And first commercial director Sean Bratches left in 2020. His biggest legacy was the creation of the hit Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive, which has played a major role in F1’s global popularity since Liberty took over.