At the beginning of April, Liberty Media, the company holding the commercial rights of Formula 1 since 2017, announced the acquisition of 86% of the shares of the MotoGP parent company, Dorna Sports.
Carlos Ezpeleta, Sports Director of Dorna, acknowledged that, although not a simple task due to various reasons, it is theoretically possible for F1 and MotoGP to share weekends. In an interview with Motorsport.com, Ezpeleta stated that, although this is not part of immediate plans, they do not rule out this possibility for the future. He also mentioned that there are challenges in combining the two events, such as different fan bases, sponsors, and TV coverage. While there are some circuits that can accommodate both series, they are limited in number. Therefore, it is a complex project that is neither ruled out nor actively pursued at the moment.
During the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time F1 champion, was asked about the possibility of having MotoGP races alongside F1. As both series now have the same owner, Hamilton expressed his support for the idea. He praised Liberty’s management in Formula 1 and believed they could do a great job with MotoGP as well. He was excited about the prospect of having both series on the same weekend.
Hamilton also recalled his experience testing Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP bike in 2019 and joked about racing in MotoGP and F1 in the same weekend. However, he admitted that it would be impossible to do so.
If F1 and MotoGP manage to overcome the challenges and successfully organize joint events, remember that you heard it here first on GrandPrix247…
