Sources close to reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen have confirmed to The Race that he is open to the prospect of MotoGP team ownership in the future.
It comes as Liberty Media’s takeover of the two-wheeled series continues to open doors for increasing collaboration between the two championships and presents opportunities for MotoGP fans like Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to expand their interest in the sport.
The rumours of Verstappen’s interest in MotoGP, headed right now by father Jos, were reported at this weekend’s Catalan Grand Prix by Sky Sports Italy, who suggested that they were interested in talking to both Lucio Cecchinello’s LCR team and the US-based Trackhouse Aprilia operation.
That has been dialled back by The Race’s sources in Verstappen’s inner circle, however, who have admitted an interest in expanding his racing interests into two wheels - but that it’s still at a very provisional stage rather than advanced to the point of talking to teams.
The four-time F1 champion already runs Verstappen.com Racing, supporting former F1 driver Jos’ rally exploits and running Thierry Vermeulen (the son of his manager Raymond) in various GT racing series and the DTM championship.
A move into MotoGP team ownership would put Verstappen on a path to compete against F1 rival Lewis Hamilton in a completely different arena, given that the British former champion is also keen to become more involved.
His interest has so far extended as far as talks with the Gresini Racing outfit last year, but seems to have somewhat stalled recently.
Both Hamilton and Verstappen share a love of MotoGP, with the former a regular trackday competitor who completed a high-profile bike and car swap with Valentino Rossi a few years back, while the latter regularly talks about his love of motorcycle racing.
“I am a big fan of MotoGP,” Verstappen told Austrian broadcaster Servus TV last year, “and I try to watch every race. I always have the tablet with me at the track.”
Instead, it’s been former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner who has managed to make the first successful transition across, with his takeover of the Tech3 KTM squad formally announced in Barcelona this weekend after weeks of speculation, with the Italian set to take over from MotoGP veteran Herve Poncharel as team manager for 2026.
The first flurry of F1 interest in the MotoGP paddock comes as Liberty Media prepares to start working more collaboratively across their two properties - and with people in the four-wheeled paddock very much seeing MotoGP teams as something of a bargain right now.
It’s believed that the going rate right now for a team is in the order of €20m, a value that people are betting will increase significantly once Liberty start working to increase the popularity of the sport.
The value of some F1 teams has increased as much as tenfold under their stewardship, with the championship’s boom in the USA in particular driving up audience numbers and revenue.
It also comes at an interesting turning point for the series, with new rules and a new tyre supplier in the shape of Pirelli arriving for 2027 and promising to very much shake up the order and very much threatening the dominance that Ducati has enjoyed in recent years.
