Greg Maffei, the president of Liberty Media, is happy to have been able to secure an agreement for a third F1 race in the United States. After Austin and Miami, Formula 1 will go to Las Vegas and this is a new possibility of bringing an American driver into the discipline.
“We have an American team, we have Haas” said Maffei. “And I think having an event like this in Las Vegas, along with all the other things we’re doing in the United States, will only make it more likely that we’ll have an American driver soon.”
Considering the size of the United States and the appeal of destinations like Miami and Las Vegas, in addition to Austin, Maffei is not afraid that the public will shun either destination: “One of the things that is unique about Formula 1, or at least special, is its global nature.
“The audience going to Miami will be a global audience. The audience going to Austin is already a global audience. I’m absolutely certain that the audience going to Las Vegas will be a global audience, it’s not going to be a only from the American public.”
Liberty Media will be the promoter of this Las Vegas Grand Prix, in partnership with F1. Maffei explains why the company wanted to play this role: “When we bought the company just over five years ago, we saw opportunity, we saw potential.”
“We saw there was a role to play, other than just showing up and letting our local partner do it. We could play a bigger role and do things the way we do in collaboration with many partners, but also with LiveNation.”
“The goal is for Liberty and Formula 1 to play a bigger role than the global sport that we are. That’s the opportunity we see and especially the opportunity here in Vegas.”
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