Give Me Liberty

TOPSHOT - Ducati Lenovo Racing team Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia tries a start during a free practice session of the San Marino MotoGP Grand Prix at the Misano World Circuit Marco-Simoncelli in Misano Adriatico on September 2, 2022. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
John Ourand
May 29, 2024

Back in ye olde days of 2016, media impresario John Malone made one of the least appreciated masterstroke deals of his long and storied career. His Liberty Media, which was then run by Greg Maffei, acquired the commercial rights to Formula One, the cliquish racing competition that seemed to be run as some sort of multibillion-dollar boutique or European heirloom.