Lewis Hamilton hopes he can race in MotoGP following Liberty Media's takeover (Image: Getty)
Lewis Hamilton has flirted with an intriguing idea, challenging Liberty Media bosses to make the ‘impossible’ work.
Lewis Hamilton has expressed his interest in competing in a round of the MotoGP season, should Liberty Media manage to organise a double-header weekend with Formula One at the same race track.
The American company, which bought Formula One back in 2017, purchased 86 per cent of the rights of the motorcycle-racing series in a deal valued at £3.6billion (€4.2bn) at the start of April. The remaining 14 per cent will be continued by Dorna Sports, which has owned the series since 1992.
Discussing his thoughts about Liberty Media’s recent takeover of the series, Hamilton said: “I didn’t really think a lot about it, but obviously I read the headlines about it. Liberty has done an amazing job with Formula One, with the value of it, so I think they can do a great job with MotoGP.
“It is exciting because I love MotoGP, and it would be epic if we can have them on the same weekend. Maybe, I could do a race in MotoGP and race a Formula One car on the same weekend, that would be really cool [but] impossible.”
Lewis Hamilton’s love for MotoGP is no secret, and the seven-time world champion even completed a ride swap with Italian motorsport icon and fellow Monster Energy ambassador Valentino Rossi back in 2019, during which he rode the veteran’s Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1 bike around the Circuit Ricardo Tormo.
While Hamilton’s proposal to take part in a MotoGP race is unlikely without considerable behind-the-scenes testing and special dispensation to take part in a Grand Prix, the prospect of both series racing at the same track on the same weekend is a compelling one.
If Liberty Media did want to pair up their two series at one race track then there are currently five contenders for the location. One of these is the Lusail International Circuit, which has been a staple of the MotoGP calendar but recently welcomed F1 racing to its tarmac as recently as 2020.
Alternatively, F1 could partner up with MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, or the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The Red Bull Ring in Austria would be another contender that both series currently race at.
The final and arguably most compelling option – particularly in the eyes of Hamilton – would be to unite the two events at Silverstone, getting hundreds of thousands of eyes on MotoGP at one of the most hotly-anticipated and well-attended events in global sport.
