Liberty Media, the Nasdaq-listed investment company which owns Formula One, has revealed that it is considering buying a complementary motor sport to boost its returns.

Liberty bought F1 in January from the private equity firm CVC in an $8bn (£6.6bn) deal fuelled with stock and cash from borrowings and the sale of shares.

It has identified growth opportunities in digital purchases, which currently drive less than 1pc of F1’s revenue, and in the United States, where there is currently only one race.

However, Liberty’s chief executive Greg Maffei says he is also considering driving synergy through the acquisition of a related company.

“At the right price, the right opportunity, potentially expanding Formula One into other motor sports. That could be interesting. Ones where we have synergies. Ones where we are starting to get some insights. There are emerging sports that could be as well.”

Liberty Global also holds a minority stake in Formula E alongside Discovery Communications

He adds that “starting with motor would be the most natural but that’s not to say there’s nothing else that could work.”

In addition to owning F1, Liberty owns stakes in event promoter Live Nation and the Atlanta Braves baseball team.

However, Mr Maffei says “I don’t see us buying a basketball team or another traditional US opportunity.”

Liberty Media is chaired by billionaire John Malone who is also chairman of Liberty Global, which owns the telecoms and cable television network Virgin Media and which has a minority stake in the electric racing series Formula E alongside Discovery Communications.

Formula E is a possible target, as is IndyCar, a family-owned American rival to F1 which operates the famous Indianapolis 500 race and would boost the sport’s footprint in the US.

The acquisition of a feeder series seems less likely. CVC bought the leading championship GP2 in 2006 and last week it was re-branded as F2 to formalise the road to F1 for young drivers. Mr Maffei says that shareholders are on track to benefit regardless.