Liberty Media boss shows interest in Southeast Asian race

The potential expansion of Formula 1 in Southeast Asia is a hot topic these days, with countries such as Korea, Thailand, and Indonesia currently under consideration for hosting F1 races, revealed Liberty Media’s CEO, Greg Maffei, during an event organized by Autosport in Monaco. Korea has already hosted races between 2010 and 2013 but was later removed from the calendar. However, new organizers are interested in seeing F1 return, this time on an urban circuit in Seoul.

Thailand and Indonesia also show interest in hosting F1 races. In fact, the Thai Prime Minister attended the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last weekend, while Indonesia is also interested in hosting races. It is interesting to note that these two countries currently host legs of the MotoGP championship… that Liberty Media is currently acquiring.

Greg Maffei, CEO of the group that owns F1, highlighted the success of the return of the premier category in China this year, after a four-year absence. He mentioned the surge in interest in China, partly thanks to the presence of Chinese driver Guanyu Zhou. Maffei also mentioned the interest of Thailand, Seoul, and Indonesia in hosting F1 races.

« There is a lot of interest in Asia. Thailand, Seoul, we have had interest from Indonesia… there are many places that want a Formula 1 race and we are really looking at the intersection of current and potential fans, those who could organize a great race and those who can afford a race. I think we could very easily see a second race in Southeast Asia », he added.

Better understand the fans

Greg Maffei took the opportunity to pat himself on the back by stating that F1 has gained a better understanding of fans’ expectations thanks to events like the Las Vegas Grand Prix, of which he was the promoter. The dress rehearsal (in Las Vegas) went very well, and we can only hope that the show will be just as good. “I expect us to learn how to optimize and be more efficient, because in some cases, we are going so fast. I think we will be smarter next time,” he added, probably referring to incidents with poorly fixed manhole covers.

« And we will be more efficient and probably less disruptive to the community and we will better understand what the fans want, he said. « We would certainly like to make more money in Las Vegas, but over time, I expect us to do so.

Maffei also pointed out that F1 has become in recent years a direct-to-consumer business, allowing it to better meet the needs of fans.

(eng) “We really changed the sport in many ways,” he said. “One of them is that it was really a B2B activity where we simply delivered the product to the local promoter and they sold it. But more and more, with things like F1TV and promotions we have done ourselves like Las Vegas, we better understand the fans. We are a consumer-centric company and we understand their needs.”