In the round-up: Reports claim Liberty Media, which owns Formula One Management, is looking to buy Moto GP owner Dorna Sports.
In brief
F1 owners tipped to buy Moto GP
Liberty Media is reported to be closing on a €4 billion (£3.4 billion) purchase of Dorna, but may face an investigation by competition regulators if it does, the Financial Times reports.
CVC Capital Partners had to sell its rights to Moto GP in 2006 when it bought F1. Liberty Media acquired F1 from CVC in 2017 for $8 billion (£6bn).
F1 generated £2.5bn in revenue last year, an increase of 25% over the previous year.
IndyCar starts three-day test
IndyCar will begin a three-day test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course today involving a mixture of hybrid and non-hybrid cars. The series intends to introduce hybrid power later this season, following the Indianapolis 500 in May.
For today only, all cars on track will have hybrid power. Romain Grosjean (Juncos Hollinger), Tom Blomqvist (Meyer Shank), Jack Harvey (Coyne), Graham Rahal (RLL), Sting Ray Robb (Foyt) and Rinus VeeKay (Carpenter) are due to run.
Steiner becomes Miami Grand Prix ambassador
Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner will act as an ambassador for the Miami Grand Prix in May. Besides his eight years at the helm of F1’s only American team, Steiner also has a composites business in the USA.
Miami Grand Prix president Tyler Epp said Steiner “has become a household name with F1 fans of all ages,” thanks in part to his celebrated appearances in Drive to Survive, “and is a perfect ambassador for our race.”
“Having someone with his experience, reputation and candor attached to our event will undoubtedly add to the excitement and elevate race weekend to a new level,” Epp added. Steiner has also joined German F1 broadcast RTL as a pundit since leaving Haas.
Brabham backs Heuzenroeder
Former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans 24 Hours winner David Brabham is assisting 18-year-old Australian racer Patrick Heuzenroeder, who relocated to Britain last year. Heuzenroeder has been signed to Brabham Group’s mentoring programme for the upcoming season.
“I know that the path to Formula 1 will be a challenging one, but Patrick has speed and a great attitude and he wants to learn,” said Brabham. “He has all the attributes needed to succeed in motorsport.” Heuzenroeder will race for JHR in the GB3 championship, which begins at Oulton Park this weekend.
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