After months and months of will-they, won't-they, the European Union has finally approved the purchase of MotoGP—and all its constituent races—by Liberty Media, the folks who own Formula 1.
The merger has been a hot topic since the acquisition by the American-led outfit was announced early last year, especially as this wasn't the first time that the owners of Formula 1 and MotoGP attempted to bring the two sports together. They were eventually told to ultimately split after European anti-trust issues were raised, and rightfully so at the time. However, this new coming together felt different than the last as the rise of streaming, more diversified viewing options existing, and the absolute dominance that Formula 1 has enjoyed in recent years, thanks to Liberty Media's global media campaign, had more momentum.
EU regulators could only say so much given the potential economic windfalls that the two top-tier racing organizations could bring to the continent by coming together.
But now that it's finally been approved, what's next? Well, let's do a bit of soothsaying and see if we could divine a few likely, and possibly hoped, outcomes that will come in the near, the somewhat near, and the distant future.
Raises hand to forehead ala Professor X.
In the short term? Probably nothing. You might see some splashy marketing materials, you may see more commercials for MotoGP on Formula 1's coverage, and more Formula 1 commercials on MotoGP's. And you might see a few more meet-and-greets between the riders and the drivers when their schedules allow them to cross-polinate on race weekends.
But nothing substantive can occur with relative ease in these first few months to the first year, as these are both massive organizations that require time to steer in new and interesting paths. So your (my) hopes for a Formula 1/MotoGP double-header, well, those are likely not in the immediate cards given we're already mid-way through both seasons.
What I would bet, however, is some sort of exhibition of both series on each other's turf, with the easiest way of doing just that being with Red Bull.
Red Bull remains one of the lone manufacturers that has its fingers in both series—Honda being second, but they're still with Red Bull F1 for the season. The energy drink giant has long sponsored both series and, in the past, rolled out its past Formula 1 and MotoGP racers for special events, interesting YouTube videos, and more stunt-based ad campaigns. It's a strategy that's largely worked for the team, even while Max Verstappen does his best heel, and KTM Red Bull seemingly unable to catch a break.
Yet, queuing up one of its old Formula 1 cars for a MotoGP race weekend, and then nabbing one of its old MotoGP bikes for a Formula 1 event (I'm thinking Circuit of the Americas), would be easy and begin to lay the groundwork for the two's coming together. And if Liberty Media hasn't thought of this, you're welcome to use it for a nominal fee and lifetime paddock passes for both series.
As for next year and into the more distant future, a double-header race weekend will absolutely happen. There are a few tracks that both series race at—again, COTA—where some minor calendar switching could be done to provide fans with seeing both titans race. Likewise, if you think that Netflix and Liberty Media aren't just champing at the bit to turn the success it's seen in Formula 1 with Drive to Survive and apply it to MotoGP, you're out of your gourd.
Moreover, you'll probably see the combination of the two series' streaming platforms into a single purchase, where you can get F1 and MotoGP all for one price. Maybe Liberty Media will finally fix MotoGP's shite-ass TV and streaming coverage, and do away with Dorna's asinine social media blockades. And I'm begging Liberty, BEGGING THEM, to just do recaps of the races on YouTube like it does with Formula 1.
MotoGP's current formula for YouTube is utter trash and basically nets fans absolutely nothing. It makes you actively hate Dorna for its backward online strategy. And for the parents of young children like myself who can't invest 2 hours for a race every single race weekend, Formula 1's recaps are the gold standard as I can still be present for my kids, but also watching F1 and folding clothes.
Please fix this. For me and me alone.
Past that, you'll likely see a lot more collaboration between teams, drivers, riders, team principals, and even commentators. There'll be more comings together ahead of seasons, we might get more collabs between riders and drivers, and maybe we'll finally see Lewis Hamilton either buy his own MotoGP team or be a wildcard for a MotoGP race weekend. Though I'm not sure Ferrari would be too happy about that.
What do you all hope to see, though? Sound off in the comments below and let us know your predictions!
