This week’s Business of Motorsport Roundup will explore whether an F1 team can achieve a valuation similar to the recent $10 billion valuation of the Dallas Cowboys. I also have news on charter negotiations in both NASCAR and IndyCar, the future of the Supercars calendar and why the Stake F1 team must operate under a different name at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix.
Motorsport Industry News
Formula 1
With the recent $10billion valuation of the Dallas Cowboys, Mark Mann-Bryans of Autosport asks if a Formula 1 team could ever be worth an 11-figure sum. “On average, annual revenue for an F1 team has increased almost threefold since 2018 and the rise in popularity of the championship has also seen a clamour from companies and corporations to get their brand emblazoned on cars and overalls, with new sponsorship deals seemingly announced on a weekly basis.” Read the full story at Autosport here.
Fitting 24 Formula 1 races into eight months is a tough ask, but there are plenty of factors that play into how the series puts together its congested schedule and Autosport takes a look at what is involved.
“But due to existing mid-to-long-term contracts, it is not as easy as rejigging the calendar in one fell swoop. And the sheer number of puzzle pieces F1 has to try and fit – from the climate to religious holidays and date equity demands – is sometimes underestimated by the outside world.”
Read the full story at Autosport.
From drivers negotiating to wear non-team apparel to promote their fashion brands, to an Instagram account with 28,000 followers that tracks every outfit that Lewis Hamilton wears, style is another part of Formula 1 that has had a commercial bonanza since the pandemic. F1’s reportedly forthcoming watch deal with LVMH is expected to also involve several other categories that LVMH brands will sponsor, with a massive annual rights fee coming to F1 in return, industry sources tell Sports Business Journal. Read the full story here.
The long-running U.S. Grand Prix may get a boost from college football’s shifting conference and media landscape reports Front Office Sports.
“This year’s race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin falls on the same weekend as Georgia-Texas (currently ranked Nos. 1 and 4, respectively) on Oct. 19, a new matchup in the expanded SEC. ESPN is working on potential synergies between the two events, the network’s director of programming and acquisitions, John Suchenski, tells Front Office Sports. “It could provide an opportunity that hasn’t existed in the past,” Suchenski says. “And if we can use those two together to cross-promote people between the two, it could bring in an even larger audience than we traditionally see.” Read the full story here.
General Motorsport Industry News
NBC is committed to showing only split-screen commercials while the action is taking place on the track for NASCAR. There will be no full-screen commercials during green-flag action at some upcoming events reports Sports Business Journal. But while the commercial-free experiment might make the fans happy, some of the teams are dissatisfied with the current charter offer from NASCAR.
“The disagreements stem from talks over governance, new revenue opportunities and other matters, one of the people said, without getting more specific. The current charter agreement that was introduced in 2016 expires after the 2024 season, so the sides would need a new deal in place by early next year at the latest to stave off worst-case scenarios. The offer from NASCAR is for seven years with a seven-year option after that, concurrent with the fresh media agreements from 2025 through 2031.”
Read the full story at Sports Business Journal.
While the grumbling about favoritism in the IndyCar paddock has not subsided, the teams are in the process of evaluating the first formal charter document that has been presented to them.
“According to multiple team owners, IndyCar’s 10 existing full-time entrants are meant to review and return the document to Penske Entertainment with feedback by the end of August. This comes after a previous and somewhat recent request for feedback on the charter. Once the newest thoughts are received and reviewed, a final charter document is expected to be produced that would be distributed for signatures and ratification.” Read the full story at Racer here.
Supercars is poised to expand its calendar for 2025, but not by as much as first hoped. “I think that where we’re at and the deals that have been put in place… it would be fair to say that we all want to grow, to get the championship bigger, but there are commercial outcomes that every time we put on another race, it’s very expensive for Supercars,” said Brad Jones. Read more at V8 Sleuth.
As World Rally Championship promoters Red Bull and KW 25 bring in JPMorgan to explore options for WRC’s commercial arm including a potential ‘€500m’ sale, organizers of the rallying series have stated that they will not expand the calendar for the sake of it.
“WRC has been opting for considered growth over expansion at all costs. As part of that strategy, events are first introduced on the secondary European Rally Championship (ERC) schedule before being promoted to the WRC calendar.”
Read more at BlackBook Motorsport.
Liberty Media has announced it is selling a $825million stake in Formula 1 to fund the purchase of MotoGP. Now a sale of over 10 million shares, priced at $77.50 per share, will give Liberty the revenue required to complete the Dorna deal – although a part of the proceeds will go towards corporate purposes including debt repayment. Autosport has all the details.
Executives from Friends of Laguna Seca and A&D Narigi, as well as officials from the County of Monterey, celebrated a new beginning for the Laguna Seca Raceway and Recreation Area last Thursday, ahead of the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at WeatherTech Raceway.
“This is an incredibly exciting day in the history of this legendary facility,” said Eberhart. “It’s been a long road to get here, but we are excited to work collaboratively with the employees and volunteers of Laguna Seca Raceway and Recreation Area, A&D Narigi, and the County of Monterey to ensure that motorsports fans, outdoor enthusiasts, and the entire community can enjoy this exceptional place for decades to come.”
Racer has more.
Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week
- WEC to Launch Manufacturer-Focused Documentary Series (Sportscar365)
- Revolution Race Cars Lands American Investment and Management to Expand Offering Of Le Mans Style Prototype Race Cars to Competitors and Track Day Drivers Around the World (Revolution Race Cars)
- Motorsport Australia appoints Charlie Barlow as new Development Manager (Motorsport Australia)
- FIA expands Women in Motorsport Mentorship program for 2025 (FIA)
- Why an avoidable club racing rumpus in the UK has caused uproar (Autosport)
- Realizing True ROI on Your Motorsports Business (PRI)
- Nurburgring climbs to fourth in top 100 most popular destinations in Germany (Autosport)
- NASCAR Clash moving to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025 (NBC Sports)
- Study finds people bet on sports instead of investing in the stock market (Morning Brew)
The Numbers
- Formula 1 viewership in the U.S. has more than doubled (Front Office Sports)
- ESPN highlights F1 audience growth from first half of 2024 season (Racer)
Motorsport Law Roundup
A look at some of the legal and regulatory issues and analysis in Motorsport this week
SI reports that the Dutch government has notified the Stake F1 team, commonly known as Sauber, asking it to operate under a different team name this weekend for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, since unlicensed gambling advertisement and promotion is banned by the law in the Netherlands.
“The Dutch Gaming Authority (Ksa) has ordered the organization of Formula 1 in Zandvoort, the Dutch Grand Prix, and the Sauber racing team not to advertise for illegal gambling provider Stake during the races in Zandvoort. According to the gambling legislation, it is prohibited to offer games of chance without a license, to advertise these illegal games of chance or to promote participation in them. Online gambling providers without a license must therefore take measures to prevent participation from the Netherlands, for example by applying geoblocks. Dutch players will then not be able to reach the website. Stake has applied such a geoblock.” Read more at SI.com.
While the Venu Sports streaming service, which will be a significant home for NTT IndyCar Series streaming when it moves from NBC to FOX in 2025, is facing legal hurdles potentially threatening its existence before it even launches, Olivia Hicks at Flash Formula argues that this could be a potentially good thing for the motorsport ecosystem.
“Media rights revenues are soaring, especially in motorsport. When competition is reduced, sports franchises have fewer options and companies can offer less money. The larger companies, like the streaming trio, have deeper pockets than small-scale streaming and broadcasting platforms. Garnett emphasized in her decision that Fox Sports, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery own 54 percent of all U.S. sports rights and over 60 percent of sports rights that broadcast nationally. “There is significant evidence in the record that the true figures may be even larger,” Garnett added.”
Read her full analysis here.
Formula 1 has embarked in an interesting legal maneuver by sending cease and desist letters to various content creators for using “F1” or “Formula 1” from their names, likeness, and merchandise. Lily Herman of Engine Failure looks at the potential reasons why, its effect on the content creators and whether any of this is even legal.
“I spoke to five legal experts and lawyers about if Formula 1 has a case, and the general response was basically that each situation depends on the specific creator and “evidence,” but that this whole thing seems like a waste of time past a certain point for a corporate brand given the breadth of control they’re assuming and how many issues could arise if anything went to court. A few folks noted that there may be more of a case for F1 for things like merch and particular branded events, but Formula 1 may struggle as it tries to claim a ton of disparate things under its purview.”
Read her full analysis here.
Richard Childress Racing’s initial appeal against Austin Dillon’s Richmond penalty was denied last Wednesday by the National Motorsports Appeals Panel. The penalty was upheld regarding Austin Dillon’s victory at Richmond Raceway not counting toward NASCAR Cup Series postseason eligibility. Dillon’s No. 3 team was also docked 25 points from both the driver and owner championship standings. Racer has all the details.
Daily Sportscar‘s recent Silly Season Hypercar & GTP Round-Up mentions that the long-running saga of the EUIPO Intellectual property process which embroiled PMC GMBh (the company responsible for the ByKolles-run Vanwall Hypercar program) and UK-based Vanwall 1958 finally found in favor of the German entity this week.
“Vanwall 1958 have two months to appeal the judgement – if they do not then the Trademark will transfer to PMC GMBh on 8 October. If an appeal is filed then the process would likely take well over a further year to decide, during which time the mark would stay with the UK entity.”
Motorsport Sponsorship & Partnership News
Here are the latest motorsport sponsorship deals, partnerships and related analysis that were announced this week
- RFK tipped to land Kroger’s NASCAR business from 2025 (Sports Business Journal)
- McLaren Racing and NTT Data expand partnership to include F1 Academy team (BlackBook Motorsport)
- F1 Academy Announces Collaboration with The Female Quotient (The Female Quotient)
- Nitrocross partners with GovX to offer ticket discounts for military and first responders (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Jack Link’s Beef Jerky inks partnership with NASCAR (Sports Business Journal)
The Business of Running a Race Team
In the video above, NASCAR.com’s Kim Coon goes 1-on-1 with Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson on the team’s journey through racing in NASCAR.
Team & Manufacturer News
Here is a roundup of the latest team news from around the world of motorsport
- Meyer Shank shifts IndyCar alliance from Andretti to Ganassi (Racer)
- Andretti hits pause on IndyCar team partnerships (Racer)
- Renault’s F1 sacrifice is good unemotional pragmatism (The Race)
- How GMS Racing found a new life outside of competition (Racer)
- Audi joins GT4 field at Phillip Island (SpeedCafe)
- HRT, Winward Join 24H Dubai Grid (Sportscar365)
- Isotta Fraschini withdraws from WEC’s Hypercar class with immediate effect (Autosport)
- What Does The End Of Isotta Hypercar Adventure Mean (Daily Sportscar)
- Stewart-Haas Racing permanently closing, laying off hundreds of employees (WBTV)
- Miedecke Motorsport: The Little Team That Can (Sportscar365)
- AWA Confirm 2025 Return With Single GTD Corvette (Daily Sportscar)
- CB Motorsports planning an expansion to multiple programs in 2025 (RTD Media)
- AF Corse LMP2 Confirmed for 2025 WeatherTech Championship (IMSA)
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.
