Global media, audience and commercial interest in Formula One is driving the motorsports series to new financial heights.
According to the latest financial results published by F1’s parent company, Liberty Media Corporation, the Formula One Group reported total revenue of $871m, up from $724m the year prior.
This revenue was divided between $888m purely from F1, with additional corporate revenue of $141m. Total F1 profit stood at $84m, likewise an increase on the year prior (Q2 2023: $72m), driving F1 Group profit of $59m, up from $52m the year prior.
F1 revenue is further divided into subjections, with ‘primary F1 revenue’ constituting the majority. This revenue is derived from race promotions, media rights fees and sponsorship fees.
As the top level of international motorsports, F1 has attracted substantial commercial interest for some time. Various deals are in place from the top-level down, including series’ partners, team partners and individual athlete partners.
Companies from a range of sectors such as Crypto.com, PokerStars and TikTok have signed commercial deals with the series.
The revenue rise was also partly driven by an increase in the number of races held this year. A total of eight races were held in Q2 2024, compared to six in Q2 2023, with the overall number of events this year standing at 24, up from 22 last year.
According to Liberty Media Corporation, F1 revenue rose across media and sponsorship due to the mix of races on event specific fees, as well as more income coming from new sponsors.
“Formula 1 is having an incredible season with particularly high engagement in growth markets,” said Greg Maffei, Liberty Media President and CEO.
“Five races have already set US live viewership records for their events, and we look forward to our new opportunities ahead including Apple’s highly anticipated F1 film which will debut in June 2025.”
However, Liberty did also note that race promotions revenue was ‘relatively flat’ during Q2 due to fees from additional races being offset by the different mix of events from the previous year.
Aside from primary revenue, F1’s financial performance was also driven by higher hospitality, freight, travel, technical services, and income form the F2 and F3 motorsports series, which also held more races this quarter.
