A significant question mark remains over Stefano Domenicali's leadership role in Formula 1 amid recent developments at Liberty Media.
The sport's parent company, Liberty Media, has announced that its CEO, Greg Maffei, will be stepping down, but no permanent replacement has been named, adding fuel to speculation that Maffei's exit might be connected to ongoing US investigations related to Liberty's rejection of the FIA-backed Andretti-Cadillac entry bid.
However, informed sources clarify that Maffei's departure is not related to any allegations of anti-competitive or cartel-like conduct.
Yet, Domenicali, the CEO of Formula 1, has been directly mentioned in the US investigations, with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reporting that Domenicali's role might be "even more central to the American group's plans" than Maffei's was.
Domenicali, for now, is "awaiting contract renewal," noted correspondent Daniele Sparisci on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, F1's head of commercial, Emily Prazer, who also oversees the Las Vegas GP, confirmed that the Vegas event would not adopt the sprint race weekend format.
"No," she said to reporters ahead of the highly anticipated race on the Las Vegas Strip. "Basically, the race itself essentially feels like a sprint race. So I think we're quite comfortable letting Austin and Miami keep the sprint because we've got so much more happening anyway that we're in a really good place."
