Formula 1 has placed number nine in the list of top fifty brands of 2025, and I have the details in this week’s Business of Motorsport Roundup. I also have details on the Alex Palou vs McLaren lawsuit, a surprising addition to the FIA presidential candidate list and much more.
Overview
Motorsport Industry News
Formula 1 Ranked 9 Among the Top 50 Brands of 2025
Formula 1 was ranked as the ninth best brand in 2025 by Gen Z research firm dcdx, “measured by organic popularity and consistency with user-generated content on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube,” per WWD.
FIA President Wants V8s Back in F1, But It’s Not His Decision
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wants to give fans loud F1 cars once again but his idea is falling on deaf ears. The reason? As Mark Hughes of Motorsport Magazine points out, the relationship between the FIA and FOM is not what it was in the past and the FIA president cannot compel the teams to follow his vision.
“The reason is that under the terms of Liberty Media leasing F1’s commercial rights (in place since 2017), the FIA no longer has that power. The governance agreement sees the FIA take a fee from FOM (Liberty’s F1 management group) to administer the championship. But the regulations are devised by F1, not the FIA. That was true of the ground effect regs of 2022, just as it’s true of the new 50/50 electric/internal combustion regs of 2026. These are FOM regulations. The FIA just rubber stamps and administers them to ensure compliance, with some small power to tweak through technical directives to meet FOM’s stated aims.”
IndyCar Exploring Return to Cleveland for 2028
IndyCar is exploring a potential street course race in Cleveland, Sports Business Journal has learned, as the series gets more aggressive about setting up major events with new investor Fox Corp. SBJ reports that this week, the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission sent out a survey to area leaders that has been seen by SBJ and states that there is “an exciting opportunity that we are assessing for Northeast Ohio — the return of IndyCar to downtown Cleveland in 2028.”
Penske Entertainment Preparing to Increase IndyCar Leaders Circle Payout
Penske Entertainment is preparing to deliver a significant increase to its Leaders Circle program according to RACER. “Multiple sources tell RACER Penske Entertainment, which sold 33 percent of the series and Speedway to Fox Corporation in August, recently informed its entrants of a plan to add $500,000 to each Leaders Circle contract for 2026. The rise to nearly $1.7 million per contract would represent the largest year-to-year increase since the program was created in 2002. More importantly, the sizable improvement would help IndyCar’s charter teams to combat the escalating costs to compete.”
IMSA’s Porsche Carrera Cup: How Amateurs Fuel Growth
Amateur racers now make up over half the Porsche Carrera Cup North America grid, proving how tiered class structures are reshaping revenue and redefining IMSA’s entry-level motorsports model. Read the complete analysis at Vantage here.
FIA Presidency: A New Candidate Declared
Journalist and former international model Virginie Philippot has become the latest person to declare her candidacy for the presidency of the FIA. “I believe motorsport should reflect the real world, bold, diverse, and united. As a woman with a global vision and deep roots, I’m here to open doors that have stayed closed for too long. Let’s build a (sic) FIA that’s truly inclusive for every voice, every story, every passion. The race for the future starts now.”
Case Study: M-Sport UK Limited on exports and emerging markets
The 2024 Review of UK Motorsport Valley identified exports and emerging markets as a key theme. M-Sport, an industry-leading motorsport and engineering operation, work mostly in the design and manufacture of competition cars. You can read the case study here.
BlackBook Motorsport Forum USA Announced
Join BlackBook Motorsport at the iconic Dallara Experience Hub, where senior leaders, experts and changemakers from North America’s motorsport industry will come together to discuss what’s next for the ecosystem. Uniting major series, teams, partners and race circuits, we’ll tackle prominent challenges, share solutions, and drive collective progress towards a healthy and prosperous future. Full details can be found here.
Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week
- Senna vs Sonic: When McLaren taunted Williams with a squashed hedgehog (Motorsport Magazine)
- The F1 Driver as a Modern Media Empire (Esses)
- Mongolia Joins FIA Motorsport Accelerator to Drive Motor Sport Growth (FIA)
- How do you feed F1 VIPs? 3,000 lobsters per day and ‘a Hollywood movie on the go’ (The Athletic)
- Former F1 team owner Enzo Osella dies aged 87 (Motorsport Week)
- Katharina Nowak Becomes President of Miami GP (Business of Speed)
- Goodyear Launches Global Racing Organization to Enhance Motorsport Strategy Worldwide (PR)
- Sports.com Media to Acquire Racing Women in Pursuit of Motorsports Growth (SCCG Management)
- Corolla Cup shows ‘motorsport culture’ revving to go in Taiwan: Toyota chairman (Focus Taiwan)
- Performance Racing Industry Expands Leadership and Event Capabilities With Two Key Hires (Traction News)
- Madden, EAFC maker Electronic Arts to go private in record $55bn buyout (The Athletic)
- Pitt Race sold and will close at the end of 2025 (Grassroots Motorsports)
- A2RL season two brings autonomous racing back to Abu Dhabi (Motorsport.com)
- When F1 drivers become fashion magazine stars (Formula 1)
- Mission 44 and Formula 1 host Igniting Inclusion summit at Silverstone (Mission 44)
- Competition and race engineering VP Pappas leaves IndyCar (RACER)
Highlights from the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup
Extreme H Prepare to Introduce Hydrogen to Motorsport
The Extreme H World Cup is about to introduce hydrogen to motorsport, and I have all the details in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup. You will hear from those behind the scenes, the unique format the race will use and more!
The Numbers
Motorsports viewership last weekend in the U.S. via Adam Stern:
1) NASCAR Cup (USA Network): 1.880 million viewers
2) Formula 1 (ESPN): 1.2 million
3) INDYCAR (Fox): 1.142 million
4) NHRA (Fox): 1.036 million
5) NASCAR Xfinity (The CW): 733,000
6) NASCAR Trucks (FS1): 262,000
7) ARCA (FS1): 43,000
- NASCAR viewership drops again as 1.49m watch Kansas race on USA Network (BlackBook Motorsport)
Motorsport Law Roundup
Alex Palou Attends Court in London Over Contract Dispute with McLaren
Alex Palou arrived at court in London last Monday for McLaren’s contract dispute lawsuit with the Spanish driver. Palou had agreed to join Arrow McLaren — McLaren’s IndyCar arm — in 2022, signing a contract with the team for the 2023 season while driving for Chip Ganassi Racing before subsequently reneging on the deal and remaining with Ganassi. Both The Athletic and RACER have great overviews of a case that, due to the fact that the dispute is primarily financial, will most likely settle before a judicial resolution.
NASCAR Exec Says Team Was Warned About LGB Sponsors
A NASCAR executive told jurors on Wednesday that driver Brandon Brown’s team had previously been warned the league would not sign off on any on-track promotion of the “Let’s Go Brandon” phrase, but pursued approval of an LGBCoin sponsorship anyway in a manner the executive said was “disingenuous.”
Emergency Heritage Claim on Mount Panorama Denied
An emergency application to seek heritage protection for an area on Mount Panorama has been denied by the Federal Government just a fortnight out from the Bathurst 1000. “Senator Watts, Minister for the Environment and Water, noted that the specified area is not a significant Aboriginal area to satisfy the purposes of Section 9 of the ATSIHP Act.”
A Deep Dive Into Felipe Massa’s $82 Million Lawsuit
Last week I featured an update on Felipe Massa’s lawsuit against the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over “Crashgate.” Planet F1 has done a great job of providing a detailed overview of what the case is about and what Massa is suing for.
North Carolina’s Passes ‘Right To Race’ Law
A bill to protect race tracks from NIMBY-led nuisance complaints is set to become law in North Carolina. The North Carolina General Assembly last week passed HB926, which protects race tracks from nuisance claims, specifically in cases where the motorsports facility had legally established development rights and received all necessary permits and approvals to begin construction and operations. Governor Josh Stein announced that he will allow the bill to become law without his signature.
“A racing facility shall not be subject to any action brought by a surrounding property owner under any nuisance or taking cause of action if the developer of the racing facility obtained all permits required for construction of the racing facility and established a vested right in the development of the property or contiguous group of properties where the racing facility is located before the surrounding property owner either purchased the real property or constructed any building in the area of the racing facility.”
Motorsport Sponsorship, Partnership News and Analysis
- McLaren Racing announces Groq as an Official Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team (McLaren Racing)
- Connect Partnership Group and Rush Sports & Entertainment Launch Joint Venture to Accelerate US Brand Opportunities in Formula 1 Sponsorships (PR)
- Formula 1 extends licensing partnership with F1 Authentics through 2030 (Formula 1)
- DUDE Wipes sponsoring Anthony Alfredo, Beard Motorsports at Talladega (Jayski)
- Extreme H continues to build out rights portfolio with SPOTV renewal (Sportcal)
- HSR and Mission Expand Multi-Year Partnership with the HSR Mission GT Challenge (HSR)
- F1 Academy and Hello Kitty partner for Las Vegas finale (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Why Hello Kitty and F1 Academy deal marks a key motorsport moment (Planet F1)
- Crypto Fuels 26% of F1 Sponsorship Deals in 2025 (Vantage)
- TAG Heuer: A History Written in Seconds (TAG Heuer)
- Skip Barber Racing School to Sponsor Andretti-Jourdain SuperCopa Entry at Mexican Grand Prix (Skip Barber)
- Aston Martin Aramco debuts motorsport-inspired collection with Timex Group (Aston Martin F1)
- Jack Daniel’s, McLaren Racing Extend Partnership (Fred Minnick)
- BWT Alpine Formula One Team welcomes BlockDAG as Layer One Blockchain Partner (Alpine)
- McLaren hid Smartsheet’s logo (The Commercial Table)
- Mission 44 partners with American Express to expand our reach in the US (Mission 44)
- Extreme E Extends Broadcast Partnership with SPOTV Across Asia (Extreme E)
- HSR and Downforce Motorsports announce new partnership (RACER)
- Ecosave Expands Speedway Motorsports Partnership As Title Sponsor of Oct. 3 Ecosave 250 (Catchfence)
- Trident, OutDrive GP Partner To Power Sim Racing At GPSS 2025 In Singapore (Bernama)
The Business of Running a Race Team
Go For a Tour Inside The Conquest Racing Shop
Team & Manufacturer News
- BMW M Team WRT to field both IMSA and WEC prototype programs in 2026 (RACER)
- Why Ford Will Run Its Own Hypercar Team for 2027 (Autoweek)
- Audi Formula Racing chief executive Adam Baker makes Cadillac F1 switch – report (RacingNews365)
- Former F1 Miami boss Epp to lead Cadillac team’s commercial efforts (Sports Business Journal)
- Greystone GT To Make GT World Challenge Europe Debut At Barcelona Finale (Daily Sportscar)
- Honda reveals new Prelude GT500 challenger for 2026 Super GT season (Motorsport.com)
- Williams endures significant £50m loss amid £555m rebuild injection (Planet F1)
- Alpine F1 post UK£14.6m loss in 2024 (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Turner Motorsport Back for 2026 GTD Season (IMSA)
- Toyota to introduce updated Le Mans Hypercar for WEC 2026 (Autosport)
- Toyota Shows First Glimpse of New GR010 Hybrid Aero Package (Sportscar365)
- McLaren post UK£54.2m profit in 2024 (BlackBook Motorsport)
- F1 Winner McLaren’s CEO Zak Brown Makes $50 Million After Title (Bloomberg)
- JMF Motorsports’ Multi-Series Success Story (GT World Challenge America)
- NASCAR says ‘new Chevrolet’ coming to Cup Series (SpeedCafe)
- Andretti Global appoint former Penske exec Ron Ruzewski as IndyCar team principal (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Jurassic ‘perk’: AO Racing developing global brand with dinosaur-themed sports cars (Sports Business Journal)
- Kevin Kidd named Stellantis competition director (RACER)
- Kellymoss Targeting All-Female Endurance Program for 2026 (Sportscar365)
- Pfaff Motorsports Lamborghini Set for 2026 GTD PRO Return (IMSA)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.
