After 61 Years Lamborghini Finally Does Racing Right

After 61 years, Lamborghini are finally doing racing right with their Squadra Corse racing arm. This is just one of the many topics covered in this week’s Business of Motorsport. You will also find details on everything from how to run an F1 media center to how Trackhouse Racing is planning to grow MotoGP’s footprint in America.

All this and much more in this week’s edition of the Business of Motorsport Roundup on Motorsport Prospects. It’s business news racers can use.

Motorsport Industry News

Formula 1

Business of Motorsport

Mercedes has become the first Formula 1 team to exceed a turnover of £500 million, according to its latest published accounts. The company that runs the squad, Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd., declared a turnover for 2023 of £546.5 million, which covers the year that ended December 31. This figure represents an increase of £71.9 million over the 2022 figure of £474.6 million.

Aston Martin has committed to Formula 1 until 2030 just a matter of days after Fernando Alonso signed a two-year contract extension while Honda has stated that they are targeting an F1 title bid with the team when they join forces in 2026. “We know that it will be very difficult and it is not so easy, but we need some good targets to put in our best effort together with Aston Martin.

Michael Andretti’s F1 project is facing a key meeting with FOM according to his father Mario. “The FIA has put us through the ringer, if you will, for us to be able to check all the boxes and we have one more blessing that we need from the FOM, but we’re having a key meeting coming up and hopefully we have some positive results from that.”

The Athletic has a great look at the Andretti F1 operation in how Andretti’s F1 plans are pushing ahead – even after being rejected. “We have a lot of really good talent already,” Michael Andretti told The Athletic. “We have a lot of talent sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what is going to happen. So we feel very good about it. Once we get the full go-ahead, we’re going to have a really strong team.”

Miami Grand Prix

Since Liberty Media has taken control of the commercial rights of F1, they have made no secret of how they want each Grand Prix to be an event with a capital “E”. Here is what the Miami and Australian Grands Prix are doing to make this a reality.

Could F1 and MotoGP race on the same weekend at a track like COTA now that Liberty owns the commercial rights to both? There are synergies to be sure but according to Circuit of the Americas chairman Bobby Epstein a double-header with Formula 1 is ‘possible but not probable‘.

“I think there are complications beyond the obvious,” Epstein told selected media, including Autosport. “And also, you’d have to do a lot of changeover of track signage. The media centre would bulge a little bit at the seams. It’s possible, I don’t know that it’s probable.”

Vanessa “VF” Castro of The Qualifier looks at the F1 Economics Effect on the Driver Market. “One thing is abundantly clear: talent alone is no longer enough to guarantee a spot on the grid. In an age where every millisecond counts and every sponsorship dollar holds immense value, drivers must balance talent with marketability.”

Blinkfire rounds up the social media trends from the Japanese Grand Prix. “The most prominent post on social media from April 1st to 7th was published by the official Instagram account of Formula 1, boasting over 27.8 million followers. This post highlighted the passion of the fans gathered at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix and garnered over 1.7 million interactions.”

Sporting Crypto dives into the details of Red Bull Racing’s recently launched NFT Collection Velocity Series 2.0. Owning a Velocity Pass 2.0 will give holders exclusive access and benefits such as access to three exclusive NFT artworks by world-renowned artists.

Business of Motorsport
Media center in China

International motorsports communication specialist Alexandra Schieren looks at what it takes to run an F1 Media Center. “To help the promoters with the race organization, there are extensive manuals issued by F1 and the FIA that are basically detailed guidelines as to what is required. The one for the media facilities is well over 100 pages and explains everything from the location of the media center and media accreditation center, the required equipment, the staff tasks, the accreditation procedures, structures for photographers, and much more.”

General Motorsport Industry News

World Rally Championship

In rallying news, while Ireland’s bid to rejoin the World Rally Championship in 2025 has been halted due to government inaction, current WRC teams are concerned at the critical situation they are facing with the 2025 rules. “The current Rally1 teams have expressed a wish for the current Rally1 rules to remain place given the extra costs and short time frame to enact changes to the cars for next year.”

NASCAR COO Steve O’Donnell has stated that NASCAR and its teams are close to a charter agreement according to Sports Business Journal. “Ultimately, when our owners look at where the sports potential is in terms of all the new media partners, the balance that we do have with linear and now being able to go with the Amazons, [TNT Sports], all the opportunities we have with content, I think they get it,” O’Donnell sad. “Everyone wants to sit down and argue over who’s going to split the money the right way, but ultimately we’ll get to a good place.”

Trackhouse Racing MotoGP 2024

ESPN looks at how NASCAR’s Trackhouse Racing is helping MotoGP crack the U.S. market. “Trackhouse is a marketer’s dream, boasting a unique combination of on-track success with off-track intrigue. The team’s headquarters in Concord, North Carolina is filled to the brim with knowledge of the American racing landscape.”

Feeder Series has some details on how Prema Racing will approach their participation in IndyCar in 2025. “Meanwhile, Rene Rosin has said that his role will evolve to overlook both sides – European and American – of the team. In recent years, Rosin has led the team’s expansion to the World Endurance Championship and opened up technical partnerships with multiple IMSA teams. Other members on each side of the pond will now be left in charge of day-to-day operations. Overall, joining IndyCar is another step in the team principal’s goal to expand Prema beyond European borders.”

After 61 Years Lamborghini Finally Does Racing Right

Road & Track looks at why Lamborghini is finally going racing properly after 61 years of existence. “Ferruccio Lamborghini, unlike other founders, always said that he did not need to go racing to prove that our cars are the best. This was his mantra and his philosophy,” Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann tells Road & Track. But that was then. This is now, and as Winkelmann points out, “the brand is changing, but so are the people, the environment, the world.”

Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week

After 61 Years Lamborghini Finally Does Racing Right
FIA Insights – Unveiling the Secrets of Homologation in Motorsports

Motorsport Law Roundup

A look at some of the legal and regulatory issues and analysis in Motorsport this week

Business of Motorsport

After Porsche winner Antonio Felix da Costa was disqualified from his win in Race 1 of last weekend’s Misano Eprix, Porsche has made good on their intention to appeal the decision. Da Costa was disqualified as his car was in breach of the technical regulations. According to the FIA: “The Throttle Damper Spring mounted in car 13 during the race was not found in conformity with one of the 3 optional items declared in the Gen3 Spark Catalogue document.”

A Porsche spokesperson told RacingNews365: “We can confirm that Porsche lodged an appeal against the decision No. 31 by the Stewards relating to the 2024 FIA Formula E Misano E-Prix, 13 April 2024. Please understand that no further comments or statements are published at this stage.”

NASCAR

Despite the recent issues that legalized gambling is causing in other sports, NASCAR is full in on gambling and determined to cash in. While they understand the challenges of enforcement required of NACAR personnel and drivers, they remain undeterred.

“When we get to September, October, November, we’re competing against football, which we know is by far the most popular sport to bet on,” says Joe Solosky, NASCAR’s managing director sports betting. “So, the prime months for us to capitalize on the general sports betting audience, not just the NASCAR fan, is from now through August. That’s where we saw a lot of the growth last year, from the month of May to August.”

Motorsport Sponsorship & Partnership News

Here are the latest motorsport sponsorship deals, partnerships and related analysis that were announced this week

McLaren Racing Logitech
Business of Motorsport
BJR Supercars Livery

The Business of Running a Race Team

Business of Motorsport

Sportscar365+ goes behind the scenes at Porsche Penske’s European HQ. “The Mannheim headquarters that now houses the WEC operation started out in life as a Porsche dealership until it was sold to Penske Automotive in 2008. It continued to operate in the same fashion for nearly a decade, until the Mannheim Porsche dealership was moved to a new building just a few minutes up the road.”

Team & Manufacturer News

Here is a roundup of the latest team news from around the world of motorsport

Business of Motorsport
Iron Dames FRECA
Mark Boudreau
Author: Mark Boudreau

Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former 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.