Few sports have embraced the pursuit of new audiences quite like F1, the motorsport league acquired by Liberty Media nearly a decade ago. Leading that effort today isStefano Domenicali, the CEO who first fell in love with racing as a child at the track in his hometown of Imola, Italy. First, he turned F1 into Formula 1: Drive to Survive, a reality show on Netflix.
Next, he welcomed Apple as a broadcast partner, which included working together on F1, a movie starring Brad Pitt. A major focus for Domenicali has been winning over American fans. Ahead of races in Austin in October and Las Vegas in November, Domenicali joined THE CEO MOMENT, our interview series featuring the world’s most influential business leaders.
We discussed how the sport navigates geopolitical turmoil, when it will finally stage a race in Africa, and what retirement might look like when his contract is up in 2029. Have you decided whether the Abu Dhabi race and the Qatar races scheduled for later this fall are going to take place as planned?I said that the calendar is confirmed today, confirmed to add the races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. In case something will happen…we have a Plan B to put in place.
But the decision today is to keep going. You’ve regularly teased the potential for a race in Africa. Where would it be?That's something I can tell you straight away.
Pragmatically, the only country that's presented to us a serious plan is Rwanda. You’ll be there by the end of this decade?Much, much earlier than that. You've had a number of crazy ideas: the Netflix show, the F1 movie with Brad Pitt.
What's next?I cannot say that, but I will tell you one thing: We move in the kids' world with relationships with Disney, with Lego….This is another way to try to diversify our audience, to capture them. What's your relationship with Max Verstappen like?I have known Max since he was a kid, and Max is an incredible champion. He's not shy to say what he thinks.
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