Liberty, which has held commercial rights to F1 since 2017, announced in early April that it had acquired an 86% stake in Dorna Sports and MotoGP in a deal valued at €4.2 billion.
Following this, MotoGP Dorna sporting director Carlos Ezpeleta said his organization “does not rule out” the possibility of future race weekends shared with F1.
At the recent Japanese Grand Prix, Autosport/Motorsport.com asked Mercedes driver Hamilton – a famous MotoGP fan who swapped races with legendary rider Valentino Rossi during the Italian’s final years of racing – if he would welcome combined F1 and MotoGP events.
“I haven’t really thought about it, [but] obviously I read the headlines about it,” he replied. “I think Liberty has done an incredible job with Formula 1, obviously the value of the thing [rising since 2017]. So I think they can do a great job with MotoGP.
“It’s exciting because I love MotoGP. It would be epic if we could have them on the same weekend.
Hamilton then joked “maybe I could race in MotoGP and drive a Formula 1 car in the same weekend – that would be really cool”, before adding that such a situation would be “impossible”.
The idea of shared F1 and MotoGP events seems unlikely in the short term and would only work at larger venues where both categories already race – such as the Austin circuit where MotoGP races this weekend – rather as on the many new urban F1 tracks. .
Lewis Hamilton, Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1, Valentino Rossi, MotoGP YZR-M1
Photo by: Monster Energy
In the same session where he faced the media at Suzuka, Hamilton was also asked whether his interests outside of F1 were now more important to him given the challenges his Mercedes team faces as they move forward. strives to return to fight for Grand Prix victories.
Hamilton insisted his main focus, the one that “keeps me up at night”, was on Mercedes and his aim to challenge for victory before leaving to race for Ferrari in 2025.
“I think at the end of the day, if you dwell on tough times, you’re only going to have one path forward,” he said.
“I think it’s really good to be able to unplug, reset and reset your focus and your goals moving forward. And so, I have some of these other things.
“But the ultimate thing that keeps me up at night is, ‘When are we going to fight for victory again?’
“What can I do differently?” What can I do better in the car? How can I progress in qualifications? How can I offer more to the team? What different configurations can we take?
“These things always keep you up. But we win and we lose as a team. We are very united. Everyone is working incredibly hard, so we have to keep it going.
