Hamilton Offers His Perspective On 'Epic' Prospect Of F1 Shared Weekends With Moto GP

Monday, 15 April 2024 at 07:30

Lewis Hamilton discussed prospects of Formula 1 and Moto GP sharing the same race weekend since the organization now owns both.

Ever since January 2017, Formula 1 has been owned by American Company Liberty Media Corporation. After acquiring F1, Liberty Media made changes aimed at increasing the sport's appeal and commercial success.

One of the most notable points is the "Drive to Survive" series, which was created in collaboration with Netflix and introduced F1 to millions of new fans.

Not too long ago (at the start of April), Liberty Media took over another traditional racing series—Moto GP. They acquired an 86% stake from Dorna Sports in a deal valued at €4.2 billion.

It was then teased by Carlos Ezpeleta (MotoGP Dorna sporting director) that a format where F1 and Moto GP would share the same track on the same weekend is not ruled out.

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The seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who is known to be a big fan of Moto GP, was asked after the most recent race at Suzuka Circuit whether he would welcome the option of a shared weekend:

"I didn't really think a lot about it, [but] obviously I read the headlines about it. I think Liberty has done an amazing 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 can have them on the same weekend."

The 39-year-old Mercedes driver famously exchanged rides with Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi during a promotional event organized by Monster Energy in 2019 at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.

During this switch, Hamilton took control of Rossi's Yamaha YZR-M1, and the Italian got to drive the seven-time world champion's 2017 Mercedes F1 W08. The Mercedes driver jokingly added:

"Maybe, I could do a race in MotoGP and race a Formula 1 car on the same weekend, that would be really cool [but] impossible."