Formula 1 is preparing to race in Thailand and this week’s Business of Motorsport has the details. I also have news on IMSA’s expanding digital footprint, why Mercedes’ right to review was successful at the Australian Grand Prix and a profile of Roger Penske.

Motorsport Industry News

Formula 1

Formula One president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali together with his chief race promotion officer Louise Young met with Thailand’s prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to discuss a future race in the country.

The government has already commissioned preliminary surveys of potential street circuit routes through Bangkok, with F1 executives invited to evaluate these proposed pathways personally. The vision centers on creating a showcase event that would transform Bangkok’s streets into a high-speed theater, much as Singapore has done with its Marina Bay circuit, which has become one of the most visually distinctive venues on the F1 calendar. A night race is likely.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra: ‘I believe that all Thai people will benefit from organising this event, whether it is large-scale infrastructure investment, job creation, new income generation, and importing new technologies and innovations. I am confident that this project will be successful. It is another important opportunity for the country to organise a world-class event.’

F1 and its teams have agreed a new commercial deal, with 2026 newcomer Cadillac coughing up a $450m anti-dilution fee. But with the governance deal still outstanding, the ball is now firmly in the FIA’s court with the second part of the deal regarding the governance of the series, which also involves the FIA, has not been forthcoming reports Autosport.

“However, contrary to the FIA’s statement Autosport understands a governance deal is actually still far away, with little progress having been made in recent weeks and months. Sources suggest FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem has been deliberately stalling progress in a political act of brinkmanship that would force F1 into making concessions to the FIA to get a deal over the line.”

Stefano Domenicali gave a glimpse into F1’s future in an interview with Sky TV’s Martin Brundle. “In terms of promoters and tracks that we are already at, we have a long-term standing agreement with a lot of them that enables them to invest, to improve the facility, to improve the quality of the entertainment that we need to give to our fans. We receive a lot of attention from other places in the world.”

Despite record Australian Grand Prix ratings for ESPN, with the network looking unlikely to renew as the home of Formula One in the US, Ampere Analysis research manager Annabel Yeomans weighs up on where the series could go next.

“With reports suggesting that ESPN is not willing to overpay to renew its deal, Formula One has been linked with a number of suitors for its US rights. That includes both traditional broadcasters and the large streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV, which have been increasing their investment in sports rights in recent years.”

Since US mass media conglomerate Liberty Media Corporation bought the Formula One Group in 2016, investment opportunities in its title asset, Formula One (F1), have never been stronger, whether the interest is in buying a team, developing new driving talent or securing the rights to host races according to SCMP.

“It was always a very costly exercise to run an F1 team, but the business model has improved in the last few years with Liberty’s takeover,” said Wells. “If you owned a team before Liberty’s acquisition of F1, you would now have an asset worth well in advance of what it would have been [without the acquisition].”

General Motorsport Industry News

The inaugural running of The Thermal Club IndyCar Grand Prix has a target audience of 5000 paying attendees, and according to the track’s general manager, the private road course in Southern California is close to hitting its goal reports RACER.

“We’re going to be pretty close to that 5000 number,” Thermal GM Nicholas Rhoades told RACER. “It’s really ramped up in the past few weeks; we’ve got a lot more ticket sales here lately. VIP ticket sales have been really good. I think we’re sold out about the VIP options.”

NASCAR expects to get similar viewership on the Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios platform as it generates on cable TV, according to President Steve Phelps, projecting confidence that the sport’s fans will adjust to the digital streaming age. NASCAR’s races on Prime will be Nielsen-rated, per EVP Brian Herbst, and Sports Business Journal‘s analysis shows that viewership similar to cable would put expectations around 2 million.

IMSA’s ongoing embrace of YouTube to reach international audiences and the steady filling of its social media channels with original digital content was rewarded at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring reports RACER. With IMSA’s domestic audience supported through NBC and Peacock, it targeted YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook as frontiers to expand starting in 2024, and with the numbers in from Sebring, the series experienced an 18.8% year-to-year increase on YouTube.

Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week

Eddie Jordan: Formula 1’s great disruptor (Autosport)
Another historic racing organizer changes hands as Lynn adds HRDC to his portfolio (Autosport)
Apple’s Sports Ambitions Should Come into Focus During Ongoing Negotiating Period (John WallStreet)
Willow Springs Raceway Is Evicting Tenants Ahead of New Ownership (The Drive)
WRC drivers stage quiet revolt at media sessions over FIA swearing crackdown (RACER)

The Indy 500 Tradition Continues With New BorgWarner CEO Joseph Fadool (Forbes)
2028-2032 LMP2 Powertrain Tender Issued (Daily Sportscar)
Did Gedlich strike gold with its FWS overhaul for 2025? (Feeder Series)
Lewis Hamilton Joined Ferrari to Be More Than the Greatest Ever (Robb Report)
Drive to Survive producer insists “authenticity” is its goal amid claims of fakery (RaceFans)
FOX working to address tech glitches in international IndyCar broadcasts (RACER)

Dolphins open luxury driving cl u b on Miami Grand Prix track (Sports Business Journal)
Utah Motorsports Campus rebrands as Burt Brothers Motorpark (Utah Business)
The Future of Thunderhill Raceway with Matt Busby (Thunderhill)
Tasmania secures Supercars in $6 million deal (SpeedCafe)
Don’t Be Surprised If Rejuvenated IHRA Leans More into An Entertainment Approach (Competition Plus)
Driving change: FIA join DirtFish Women in Motorsport Summit (FIA)

How F1’s Tech Innovations Are Changing Medicine, Athletics, Aerospace, and More
COTA Expansion Set to Include Amusement Park, Water Park, Hotel, Convention Center (Autoweek)
High Limit Racing Unveils $18 Million Franchise System Amid NASCAR’s Ongoing Legal Battles (Motorcycle Sports)
Meet the former F1 engineer behind the ‘world’s best croissant’ (The Athletic)
Drilling scandal rocks F2 as six drivers punished (Autosport)
Tony Quinn sells Aussie Racing Cars business (SpeedCafe)

Highlights from the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup

Formula E leads the way in sustainability once again as the latest edition of the Sustainable Championships Index is released. You will find out why, who came in second and third and where to download the report in this week’s edition of the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup. I also have the sustainability views of E1’s Team Brady, running a high performance single-seater on synthetic fuel and a sustainability-related job vacancy at the FIA.

Motorsport Law Roundup

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

Kimi Antonelli was given a five-second time penalty at the chequered flag in Melbourne, before a successful petition from Mercedes to overturn it. The decision on Mercedes’ Right to Review petition was the perfect example of how to overturn a steward’s decision.

Decision 2: There is a significant and relevant new element which was unavailable to the party seeking the review at the time of the decision concerned.
Reason: The petitioner provided video from the roll hoop camera which was previously
unavailable. This video was relevant and significant in the opinion of the Stewards and was unavailable at the time of the original decision (having only been downloaded from the Formula One camera post-race).

You can read the full decision here.

An interesting decision from the Court of Justice of the European Union could have implications for young race drivers who sign contracts with investors at a young age, as well as academy drivers and their sponsors.

A contractual term obliging a young sportsman to transfer part of his income if he becomes a professional athlete may be unfair. The national court must assess the unfairness of such a term by taking into account, in particular, whether or not that term is plain and intelligible as regards the financial consequences of the commitment.

You can read the Judgment of the Court in Case C-365/23 here.

In the latest filing from Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing, the teams urged the Fourth Circuit not to vacate a lower court’s injunction allowing them to keep competing in NASCAR races while they pursue antitrust claims against the league, arguing NASCAR’s “overblown rhetoric” against the order falls flat. Law360 has the details.

ANZSLA invites you to attend a webinar on Dealing with International Sporting Disputes against a Geopolitical Background with expert guest speaker Mark Copeland (Principal/Director, Mark Copeland Lawyers). This session will be introduced by Neville D’Costa (ANZSLA Director). This free webinar is open to ANZSLA members only (members must login to the website to gain access). More details can be found here.

Motorsport Sponsorship, Partnership News and Analysis

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

Formula 1 Racer Carlos Sainz and Father Star in New Hackett Campaign (WWD)
LVMH Banks On Long-Term Formula One With Belvedere Scoring Landmark Deal (Asia Sponsorship News Co., Ltd.)
TVS Motor, PETRONAS Lubricants extend their partnership in motorsports (Business Standard)
Legrand Australia and New Zealand revs up motorsport presence with Method Motorsport GT4 partnership (CRN)
Formula 1 and Puma Just Dropped a New Motorsport-Inspired Clothing Line (Robb Report)

F1’s crypto sponsorship comeback continues as Haas partner with Zoomex (BlackBook Motorsport)
Hot Wheels Formula 1: sponsorship between tradition, innovation and passion (RTR Sports Marketing)
Five crews land sponsorship ahead of 2025 Safari Rally vroom (Citizen Digital)
Introducing the 2025 Fine Cut Radical Cup UK (Radical Motorsport)
Formula E launches hospitality sales platform with Seat Unique (Formula E)
Red Bull Academy Program and Rokt Are Fueling Alisha Palmowski’s Formula 1 Dreams (WWD)
Traveller Whiskey looking to stay in NASCAR (SBJ)

Progressive Insurance becomes anchor sponsor for Hamlin (RACER)
Piloti Joins Forces with IMSA (IMSA)
Three stripes and you’re in – how Mercedes and adidas finally landed F1 collaboration (Autosport)
F1 and Telenet renew media rights deal in Belgium until 2027 (BlackBook Motorsport)
F1 renews digital broadcast rights with Tencent in mainland China until 2027 (BlackBook Motorsport)
Sauber pen Latin American-focused deals with Claro and PicPay (BlackBook Motorsport)
Haas Factory Team, Cole Custer Announce Two Race Partnership with Autodesk for Homestead-Miami and Sonoma (Haas)
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing (DRR) with Cusick Motorsports announced the addition of SalesAi to partner with Invst for the No. 24 INVST DRR/ Cusick Motorsports entry (Dreyer & Reinbold)

WRC Safari Rally: White Cap Announces Ksh 20 Million Sponsorship (Capital FM)
Binance’s Sports Strategy Ft. Sarah Dale (Sporting Crypto Podcast)
F2 and F3 sponsorship: a new frontier of opportunity (RTR Sports Marketing)
Exit Planning Institute Launches drivevalue.com With Legacy Motor Club (Speedway Digest)
Thank you! Ruto tells corporate bodies on Safari Rally sponsorship, says government spent only Sh980m (The Star)
How is the Sponsorship Industry in Formula 1? (Grand Prix 24/7)

Team & Manufacturer News

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

Haupt Racing Team to Make Ford Debut at NLS Season Opener (Sportscar365)
Hight Steps Down As President Of John Force Racing (Speed Sport)
KTM negotiating new five-year MotoGP deal despite financial concerns (Motorsport Week)
Cadillac F1 team plans to employ 300 people at new HQ in Fishers (Inside Indiana Business)
Sebring victory kicks off independent era for Inter Europol (RACER)

Solite Indigo Racing confirms two Hyundais for 2025 TCR Europe season Touring Car Times)
Nielsen Racing joins Euroformula Open (Nielsen Racing)
Bryan Herta Autosport to Relocate Operations to Brownsburg, Indiana (Town of Brownsburg)
Porsche to make full-time return to British GT3 in 2025 (Autosport)

Chouest Povoledo Racing Switches to Corvette (Sportscar365)
Lotus Unveils ‘Team Lotus’ – For The Love Of Racing (Lotus Cars)
Abel Motorsports decides against Indy 500 entry (RACER)
GM makes call on future Supercar product (V8 Sleuth)

Motorsport Movers & Shakers

AutoGear looks at the career and legacy of Roger Penske. “Beyond his team, Roger Penske is a significant figure in American motorsport. He owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400, and holds the rights to IndyCar. Both were acquired from Hulman and Company in 2019. To avoid conflict of interest, Penske stepped away from IndyCar operations.”

Read the full article here.

Here is a great profile of Christian Horner, Red Bull’s longest-serving team principal and his path to success.

“Christian Horner made history as the youngest Formula 1 team principal when he took charge of Red Bull Racing at just 31 years old. Since then, he has led the team to multiple championship victories and established himself as one of the most influential figures in the sport. Here’s a closer look at his career, achievements, and impact on Formula 1.”

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.