Suggestions that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund explored making a $20 billion bid to take over Formula One were “purely speculation,” according to the nation’s sports minister.
In January, Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund explored a bid last year to acquire the sport from Liberty Media, which completed its acquisition of F1 for $4.4 billion in 2017.
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F1 offered no comment on the report.
“What I know is what I read in the news, honestly. I think it’s just purely speculation, I don’t think there was any serious talk about that,” Saudi Arabia’s minister for sport, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, told The Athletic in Jeddah.
“It took a lot of heat and a lot of response and things between them, with the FIA and so on. But I am in charge of developing sports within the kingdom, not investment or all of these things — (the Saudi Arabian state’s sovereign wealth fund) is. But from what I know, it’s purely speculation.”
The heat Abdulaziz referred to was the claim by the FIA’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, that a $20 billion valuation of F1 was “inflated” and that any possible buyer would need to “apply common sense, consider the greater good of the sport and come with a clear, sustainable plan — not just a lot of money.”
Ben Sulayem’s comments sparked an angry response from F1, whose legal department sent a letter to the FIA president saying he had interfered with the series’ commercial matters. The FIA is not permitted to get involved with commercial matters, which remain purely under the jurisdiction of Liberty Media as the sport’s commercial rights holder.
The Saudi sports push
Saudi Arabia has a sizable involvement in F1 already. Besides its grand prix in Jeddah, which has been on the calendar since 2021, the state oil company, Aramco, is also a global partner for F1. Aramco has trackside branding and title sponsorship for races, including last year’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, and is also a title sponsor of the Aston Martin team.
Along with soccer, tennis, and boxing, F1 is one of a number of sporting series or leagues to have held an event in Saudi Arabia for the first time in recent years. Those debuts have led to criticism that the push is a form of sportswashing, meant to deflect attention from the state’s human rights record.
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The sports minister said the goal of the push is to increase participation in sport. “It helps us develop our youth and develops our programs and delivers on what they want. They have seen it all over the world and they ask why can’t we have it in our cities.”
A second Saudi F1 race?
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit, where F1 debuted in 2021, was originally planned to be a temporary home for the grand prix in Saudi Arabia before moving the race to the new entertainment city of Qiddiya, which is being built on the outskirts of the capital, Riyadh.
Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, the chairman of the Saudi Motorsport Company that runs the race, said he expected it to remain in Jeddah until at least 2027 or 2028 as construction continues in Qiddiya. But he was open to the idea of having multiple races in Saudi Arabia in the future, believing the demand is there to keep F1 at both venues.
“The idea of having two races in Saudi is doable,” he said at a media roundtable. “I would not be surprised if Saudi, in the near future, will host two races. The demand is there and we will have two beautiful facilities.”
Saudi Arabia is also in contention to host the opening race of the 2024 F1 season. It and Bahrain are both aiming to host their races before the holy month of Ramadan begins March 11. Australia, which had been due to start the season next year, has given up the slot to assist the Middle Eastern races.
Khalid said that while Saudi Arabia “would love to have the opening race”, he added: “Nothing is set now. Hopefully we can finalize it soon.”
(Photo of Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal: Rania Sanjar / AFP via Getty Images)
Report of $20 billion Saudi bid to buy F1 was ‘speculation’: Sports minister
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