Maffei will step down as the organisation works to simplify its corporate structure with his place to be filled, in the interim, by Liberty Media chairman John Malone.

“Since joining in 2005, Greg has been at the forefront of the exciting evolution in the lifecycle of Liberty,” Malone said.

“He has grown our asset base and made the company better and more valuable for shareholders, along the way overseeing as many as five separate public companies simultaneously.

“Especially following today’s transaction announcements, our company is simpler and more focused than ever before, which is a perfect capstone for Greg’s accomplished career at Liberty.”

Maffei was at the helm of Liberty Media when it acquired Formula 1 in January 2017 in a deal worth USD $8 billion at the time.

The championship has grown significantly since then with recent valuations suggesting its worth is in the region of USD $25 billion.

It is in the process of acquiring the commercial rights to MotoGP and recently completed revenue raising to complete that deal, worth €4.2 billion.

Speaking last week, Maffei confirmed that the European Commission now stands as the last hurdle to completion, which is expected before the end of the year.

“While it’s never easy to leave an organization as dynamic as Liberty, I am confident that this is the right time,” said Maffei.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside and learning from John, our board, the management teams at Liberty and across the family of companies and our shareholders.”

Malone, who founded Liberty Media and has an estimated personal net worth of $11 billion, added: “Looking ahead, I am acutely focused on rationalizing the structural discounts at Liberty Media and growing our attractive, cash generative businesses.

“We have built a fantastic company with high-quality assets in media, communications, sports and entertainment. I look forward to working with our executive team to uncover new opportunities for shareholder value creation.”