Carlos Sainz Sr. is considering running for FIA president and I have all the details in this week’s Business of Motorsport Roundup. I also have details of how well the Miami Grand Prix went down last weekend, first quarter F1 financial results as well as all the latest sponsorship deals and much more!
Motorsport Industry News
Formula 1
Last weekend’s Miami Grand Prix was a huge success both on and off the track, so much so that it has been signed up until 2041. Here are a few articles highlighting what went on and why. While most discuss the glamor and the glitz, Olivia Hicks from Formula Flash takes a look beyond the paddock at the neighborhood the race takes place in, a neighborhood that is far removed from the rarefied air of Formula 1.
- Miami Spends Big for the Formula 1 Grand Prix (Autoweek)
- F1 Miami Grand Prix lands early 10-year contract extension until 2041 (Autosport)
- F1 Doubles Down on U.S. With Record-Setting Miami GP Extension (Front Office Sports)
- Why Formula One loves Miami (The Athletic)
- How the Miami Grand Prix is Reshaping Formula 1 in the U.S. (Boardroom)
- The Miami Grand Prix: Overpriced? Over-hyped? What F1 fans at the track really think (The Athletic)
- The Other Side of the Track (Formula Flash)
Amid rising popularity for Formula One and large-scale corporate changes at Liberty Media, the circuit’s ownership future is a subject of great interest. Front Office Sports looks at the current speculation over a potential F1 sale.
Debate continues apace at who will buy Formula 1’s American media rights. While Liberty Media insists that there are “good conversations” around a potential deal, nothing definitive has yet to be announced.
- Formula One Courts Bidders As ESPN Exclusivity Laps Out (Front Office Sports)
- Is Anyone Racing to Buy F1’s U.S. Media Rights? (Boardroom)
- Has Formula 1 Peaked In The United States? (Huddle Up)
- Liberty in “good conversations” over F1’s next US media rights deal (Adam Cooper)
Former Formula 1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer is adamant that he wants to submit “the best” application should the door be opened by the FIA for a 12th team to join the grid according to an interview with The Race. “So I think there’s room for a 12th team. And if a 12th team does happen, I want to be prepared, in order to be the successful bidder for the 12th team. So that’s what I’ve been working on.”
Twenty-four grand prix. Twenty-four cities. Ten months. One relentless race. Behind Formula 1’s glitz and glamour, an unseen army works in overdrive–pit crews dismantling garages, engineers poring over data, logistics teams orchestrating the next cross-continental move. For the mechanics, engineers, and staff keeping the sport running, exhaustion isn’t just a byproduct of the job–it is the job. Kanzah Maktoum of Forbes looks at the human cost of F1’s expanding calendar.
What role should F1 drivers have with the FIA? Should their input be mandatory on changes related to something only they ultimately understand since they are the ones racing? The drivers think they should have a bigger role, the FIA president disagrees. These articles look at the issue.
- Should F1 drivers hold a seat of power with the FIA? (Motorsport Week)
- Hamilton: GPDA must be given more power in F1 amid FIA struggles (Autosport)
- George Russell advocates FIA change as F1 driver relations reach ‘unprecedented times’ (RacingNews365)
F1 parent company Liberty Media said Wednesday that the motorsports circuit posted a 27% decline in revenue during 2025’s first quarter to $403 million while operating income swung from a prior $136 million profit to a $28 million loss. Part of the variance is owed to one less race in the quarter to start the 2025 season compared to last year, but F1 also saw a series of increased marketing, administrative, and personnel costs.
As he ramps up his re-election campaign, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is looking to make an impression. He first advocated going back to V10s as a way to curry favor and now he is proposing removing F1’s cost cap because it is causing too many “headaches.”
In the most recent BlackBook Motorsport Mics Out podcast, Jennie Gow sits down with a panel of senior F1 executives to discuss how the series has grown over its 75 years of existence to make it the global powerhouse that it has become. You can listen to the discussion here.
General Motorsport Industry News
As I mentioned above, elections for the FIA president will be held this December and Carlos Sainz Sr. has indicated that he is seriously considering running against incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“This possibility [of being president] has been in my mind for some time now, not very deeply, but now I think it could be the right time in my career for me to take the step. I’m confident I can do a good job and put together an excellent team to give back to the sport part of what it has given me.”
Here is a roundup of current coverage on why Sainz Sr. wants to run, the current controversies that have engulfed the FIA and how the election process works.
- Carlos Sainz Sr considering run for FIA president (Autosport)
- ‘Widespread support’ emerges for Carlos Sainz Snr in FIA presidency challenge – report (Planet F1)
- Carlos Sainz Sr explains why “now is the right time” to consider running for FIA president (Autosport)
- Who is potential FIA presidential candidate Carlos Sainz Sr? (Autosport)
- ‘This is serious’ – What’s going on with Sainz’s FIA president bid (The Race)
- Carlos Sainz Sr is considering to run for FIA presidency – here’s how the elections work (Autosport)
- Ben Sulayem “committed to transformation of FIA into modern, accessible, and connected organisation” (ZAWYA)
- From driver swearing to sacked stewards, here is every controversy the FIA is facing (Autosport)
Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week
- How Richard Mille Built a Billion-Dollar Brand From Scratch (Huddle Up)
- A Closer Look at Damson Idris’ Racing-inspired Tommy Hilfiger Look for the Met Gala (WWD)
- Lewis Hamilton at the Met Gala: Why the F1 star is a modern muse for the 2025 exhibition (The Athletic)
- Motorsport Australia reveals $1 million turnaround (SpeedCafe)
- Revolution Race Cars Launches Private Offering Open to Individual Investors (Revolution Race Cars)
- Kellymoss Sparks STEM And Motorsports Dreams With Be Your Own Hero Program (Forbes)
- NASCAR Champ Ryan Blaney Buys Into Ohio Racetrack (Front Office Sports)
- A Warehouse Complex Is Erasing NASCAR’s Auto Club Speedway Turn by Turn (The Drive)
- Have You Considered Running for the SCCA Board of Directors? You Should! (SCCA)
- Whiteley Brooks Engineering: 60 Years of Motorsport Success (Manufacturing Management)
- Bahrain Motor Federation Hosts 14th Motorsport Medicine Seminar (FIA)
- These 2 Friends Are Building a Rallycross Track and Series from the Ground Up (Road & Track)
- Nissan Formula E Team launches Retro Arcade Game designed by Japanese illustrator Kentaro Yoshida (Nissan)
Highlights from the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup
NEOM takes center stage in Formula E as they take over naming rights to the soon to be ex-McLaren Formula E team and I have the details in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup. I also have details on why sustainability is central to McLaren’s motorsport mission to win, why ABB is excited about the NASCAR EV and racing a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
The Numbers
Here are the motorsport viewership numbers on U.S. TV last weekend according to Nielsen via Adam Stern.
1) NASCAR Cup (FS1): 2.560 million viewers
2) F1 (ABC): 2.2 million viewers (excluding pre race; 1.6 million including).
3) NASCAR Xfinity (The CW): 1.002 million
4) IndyCar (Fox): 914,000
5) NASCAR Trucks (FS1): 331,000
18-49 demographic:
1) F1: 786,000
2) NASCAR Cup: 470,000
Motorsport Law Roundup
A look at some of the legal and regulatory issues and analysis in Motorsport this week
A North Carolina Superior Court judge has denied Legacy Motor Club a preliminary injunction that the NASCAR Cup team sought against Rick Ware Racing in a dispute over the sale of a Charter.
Law360 reports that Michael Jordan’s stock car racing team has dropped its lawsuit seeking financial records from the owners of Formula One, according to a filing in Colorado federal court.
Somewhat related, the National Football League, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League should not be forced to reveal confidential business and financial information as part of a stock-car racing case that has no relevance to them, the major sports leagues told a New York federal court as they tried to dodge a subpoena demand. Law360 has the details.
Sports sponsorship contracts traditionally focus on category exclusivity and entitlements while overlooking data sharing language. However, with the rapid evolution of data usage in the industry, incorporating data sharing rights and obligations in sponsorship contracts is essential to maximize benefits for sponsors and sports entities. JD Supra looks into the issue here.
Motorsport Sponsorship, Partnership News and Analysis
Here are the latest motorsport sponsorship deals, partnerships and related analysis that were announced this week
- Why Hair Care Brand Privé Is Sponsoring A Female Racecar Driver—And Giving Back Every Day (Forbes)
- WhatsApp Proves It’s a Master of Messaging with Mercedes F1 Doc (Sports Pundit)
- What WhatsApp’s new Formula 1 doc on Netflix teaches us about the future of brand storytelling (Business of Speed)
- Sending a message – Communications giant Infobip teams up with Haas F1 (Autosport)
- The Health Check: How F1 built ‘the strongest sponsorship roster’ in its history (SportsPro)
- Neuro Gum adds Red Bull F1 driver Yuki Tsunoda as brand ambassador (SBJ)
- Daniel Ricciardo announces new Red Bull deal (SpeedCafe)
- F1 teams set to debut new sponsors at Miami GP (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Sponsor revenue hits all-time high for fourth edition of F1 Miami (Sports Business Journal)
- The Female Quotient and Rokt Partner to Launch FQ Lounges at U.S. Formula 1 & F1 Academy Grand Prix Race (PR)
- From Wall Street to the Pit Lane: Lottery.com and Sports.com Sponsor Rising INDY NXT Driver Sebastian Murray, Competing with Andretti Cape (Stock Titan)
- Lewis Hamilton’s Mission 44 and HP team up to boost STEM skills (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Nicokick Joins Forces with Streamline Group Racing for Porsche Carrera Cup North America at Formula One Miami Grand Prix (PR)
- Fashion’s Formula 1 Frenzy at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix Weekend (Women’s Wear Daily)
- Ferrari’s Revamped F1 App Puts IBM’s AI in the Driver’s Seat (BoardRoom)
- McLaren Formula E Exit: What’s Changing for Sponsors and the Sport (RTR Sports)
- Texas A&M to Pay $335K for NASCAR, IndyCar Marketing (Sportico)
- AT&T Sponsoring DirtFish’s Fourth Annual Women in Motorsport Summit (Sports Video)
- The Rising Value of Sponsorship in a Tariff-Driven Economy (Sponsor Pulse)
- Not just a tonne of bricks – F1 drivers parade around Miami GP track in full-size LEGO cars (Autosport)
- How LEGO Made Formula 1 Feel Human (Business of Speed)
- How Lego built life-size F1 cars for Miami GP driver parade (ESPN)
- Porsche Becomes The Official Car Of WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (duPont Registry)
- IndyCar agrees multi-year partnership with WillScot (BlackBook Motorsport)
- Arrow McLaren, RJ Reynolds announce multi-year partnership extension (McLaren)
- IndyCar Series and Parkside Collectibles launches latest line of trading cards (RACER)
- Mecum Auctions backs Abel for Indy GP and beyond (RACER)
- From Miami to Jerez: How Motorsport’s Global Stage Shapes Brand Opportunity (RTR Sports Marketing)
The Business of Running a Race Team
Meyer Shank Racing founder Michael Shank has seen his team make a sparkling start to the NTT IndyCar Series season, with Felix Rosenqvist currently fourth in the rankings, while in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the MSR Acuras offered the strongest opposition to the Porsche Penske Motorsport freight train at both Daytona and Sebring.
Ahead of the team’s return to the site of its first IndyCar victory with Helio Castroneves in the 2021 Indy 500, and the meat of the IMSA season, Shank tells RACER Debrief about the season so far, and his aspirations for the remainder of the year and beyond.
Team & Manufacturer News
Here is a roundup of the latest team news from around the world of motorsport
- New Cadillac F1 team faces battle to be fully ready for 2026 (The Race)
- How Cadillac teased its F1 team with glitzy launch event in Miami (Motorsport.com)
- GM says Cadillac F1 project not affected by auto tariff hit (Reuters)
- General Motors’ F1 plans unchanged despite $5bn impact from Trump’s tariffs (The Athletic)
- Ferrari’s Enormous Lewis Hamilton Gamble Yet to Pay Off (Front Office Sports)
- Tech Mahindra To Acquire Mahindra Racing UK For GBP 1.2 Million (NDTV Profit)
- Audi centralizes responsibilities in Formula 1 project (Audi)
- WRT opens huge new headquarters in Belgium (RACER)
- Van der Steur Racing Switches to GT4 America; Adds Luca Mars (Sportscar365)
- Alpine F1 team boss Oakes resigns with immediate effect (Autosport)
- PremiAir Racing undergoes team management change (SpeedCafe)
- Pfaff channels the ’80s with Motul livery for Laguna Seca (RACER)
- How AI boosts Mahindra engineering and racing tech (RACER)
- McLaren Racing’s Zak Brown Drives Innovation and Sustainability in Formula One (Worth)
- BMW Adds Three Extra Pro Cars for 24H Spa (Sportscar365)
- Dinamic To Field Pro Porsche At Spa 24 (Daily Sportscar)
- Inside Team Penske At Mooresville, Part 1 (Daily Sportscar)
- Inside Team Penske At Mooresville, Part 2 (Daily Sportscar)
- Alpine F1 Team Part-Owned by Mahomes, Kelce Makes Changes Amid Struggle (Front Office Sports)
- A Resurrected Lola Wants to Bid on LMP2 Tender (The Race)
- WRT Pushing For Success At Home To Kick Off New Chapter (Daily Sportscar)
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.
