A Saudi state fund would be considering a potential takeover of F1 and has even made an offer of $20 billion to the current owner, Liberty Media. The president of the FIA had expressed his concerns on Twitter following this rumor, remarks which had angered the American group. In an interview with Sport.de, Helmut Marko also expresses his views on this possibility of a takeover.<\/p>\n
Liberty Media purchased Formula 1 in 2017 for $4.4 billion, so a buyout at $20 billion would have been an incredible return on investment. Marko believes it was a great offer, showing the interest in F1. But in his opinion, the problem lies with the potential buyer.<\/p>\n
Marko says, “I think it wouldn’t be a good thing if it went to a country that, culturally, is still quite different from where most races take place. In general, it is a business matter, and it should rather be done with someone who aligns with the shareholders’ ideas.”<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia has been hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix since 2021, and will continue to do so until at least 2027. The sovereign fund has also acquired the Premier League club, Newcastle United. The country is accused of engaging in intense “sportwashing.”<\/p>\n
Sportwashing = a nation or company that tries to improve its reputation through sports.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After the rumor of a buyout offer for F1 allegedly made by Saudi Arabia, Helmut Marko, advisor for Red Bull, gives his opinion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":34231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,1749],"tags":[16,215,580],"class_list":["post-4473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-f1","category-news","tag-16","tag-declaration","tag-helmut-marko"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n