Head of F1 owner to leave role at key time for sport

Greg Maffei is to step down from his role as president and chief executive officer of Formula 1 owner Liberty Media at the end of the year.

The 64-year-old American has been pivotal in the development of F1 since US company Liberty bought its commercial rights in 2017.

His role will be taken by Liberty Media chairman John Malone on an interim basis from 1 January while Maffei stays on "to support the management transition".

Maffei will be leaving at a key time for F1 - the commercial deals that bind 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 over its rejection of an entry bid from American racing organisation Andretti.

This has led to tensions in recent months within F1 Management, the company owned by Liberty, sources have acknowledged, although these are said now to have eased and Maffei's departure is not related to the Andretti saga.

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

Maffei has been central in helping secure a more productive relationship with governing body the FIA after its president Mohammed Ben Sulayem was involved in a series of controversial steps that dismayed F1 and the teams.

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

His departure will focus more responsibility on F1 president and chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali, who has run the commercial side of the sport under Maffei since 2021.

In recent months, following a restructure of Liberty's shareholdings, Maffei has lost some of his responsibilities in the company, including the Atlanta Braves baseball team and radio station SiriusXM.

Maffei said: "All the Liberty acquisitions completed during my tenure are now in structures where shareholders can have more direct ownership in their upside.

"The corporate structure is optimised, and the portfolio companies are in strong positions with talented executive teams in place. While it's never easy to leave an organisation as dynamic as Liberty, I am confident that this is the right time."

Malone said: "Since joining in 2005, Greg has been at the forefront of the exciting evolution in the lifecycle of Liberty.

"He has grown our asset base and made the company better and more valuable for shareholders, along the way overseeing as many as five separate public companies simultaneously.

"Especially following today's transaction announcements, our company is simpler and more focused than ever before, which is a perfect capstone for Greg's accomplished career at Liberty."

Maffei is the fourth senior executive to leave Liberty Media since it acquired F1.

Chase Carey, who was made chairman and chief executive when Liberty took over, stepped down at the end of 2020 after securing a restructure of the sport, handing over to Domenicali.

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

And the first commercial director Sean Bratches left in 2020. His biggest legacy was the establishment of the successful Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive, which is credited with a major role in growing F1's global popularity since Liberty took over.