GTP/Hypercar is looking to stabilize their rule set for even longer as they experience an unprecedented boom, and you will understand why after reading this week’s Business of Motorsport Roundup. You will also understand the key managerial roles in a Formula One team, find out the latest FIA developments and learn about Saudi Arabia’s motorsport ambitions. All this and much more.
Motorsport Industry News
Formula 1
DB Motorsport has an excellent article that will help you understand the key managerial roles in a Formula One team. “This article delves into the key managerial positions within a modern Formula One team, outlining their responsibilities, decision-making domains, and how their roles interconnect to transform cutting-edge engineering and raw talent into on-track success. The complex hierarchy of an F1 team is often invisible to the average viewer, yet it plays a pivotal role in achieving consistent performance across a challenging season of technological and competitive competition.”
Read what they are here.
Despite the fact that current F1 CEO misses the technical controversies that occurred in F1’s past, F1 has ruled out a return to a V10 engine and instead is focused on tweaking the 2026 powerplant.
The Cadillac Formula 1 team will run General Motors engines from 2029 after the American automaker was officially approved as an F1 engine supplier. “With this approval from the FIA, we will continue to accelerate our efforts to bring an American-built F1 power unit to the grid,” Russ O’Blenes, CEO of GM Performance Power Units LLC, said in a statement from the FIA.
General Motorsport Industry News
British Rally Championship winner and M-Sport founder Malcolm Wilson has been nominated by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem as his preferred candidate to succeed Robert Reid as the governing body’s deputy president for sport.
While Malcolm Wilson is a respected figure in motorsport, it will take more than this to rescue what is a sinking reputation of the FIA, something that Max Verstappen alluded to after last Week’s Saudi Grand Prix. “I know I cannot swear in here but at the same time, you also can’t be critical in any form that might ‘harm’ or ‘danger’. Let me get the sheet out, there’s a lot of lines, you know? So that’s why it’s better not to talk about it. You can put yourself in trouble, and I don’t think anyone wants that.”
NASCAR landmark domestic broadcast rights contract with NBC, Fox, Amazon, and Warner Bros Discovery has shifted into gear for 2025, but has the new seven-year arrangement done enough yet to convince the doubters? Cian Brittle of BlackBook Motorsport looks into the issue here.
RACER looks to answer the question of whether GTP/Hypercar has beaten sports car racing’s boom-and-bust cycle. “The LMH and LMDh platforms have been a smash hit with manufacturers early on, with 10 currently represented across the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar and IMSA GTP categories. And there are more on the way, too, with Ford, McLaren, and Genesis all now fully confirmed.”
Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week
- Saudi Arabia’s Motorsports Ambition (PWC)
- Australian Racing Group sells Trans Am series (SpeedCafe)
- Former Marion County International Raceway For Sale Again (Dragzine)
- SOLD! The IHRA Now Owns Milan Dragway (Dragzine)
- Ms Liyema Letlaka appointed as acting CEO for South African Endurance Series (SAES)
- The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Rockingham Speedway (Autoweek)
- Exposing NASCAR’s Pay Driver Epidemic: When Will Talent Outshine Sponsorship in Racing? (Motorcycle Sports)
- Government rules blamed for motorsport firm RPM Events closure (3FM)
- Fast Women, Faster Art: How DART Car Is Reimagining The Race Track As A Canvas For Change (Gentleman Racer)
- Europe Drops Proposed Carbon Fiber Ban, Saving Interior Trims Everywhere (Jalopnik)
- Lewis Hamilton, Leonardo DiCaprio’s vegan burger chain shutters recording $10 million in losses (Yahoo Finance)
- BMW of North America and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta Extend and Expand Partnership for 2025 (Road Atlanta)
- How Online Casinos Are Tapping into NZ’s Racing Fanbase (Speedway Digest)
- Beyond the Track: How Formula 1 Hospitality Fuels Human Connection and Business Loyalty (SportFive)
- The Business of Sport – In Conversation with rising motor racing star Alex Denning (The Other Hand Podcast)
- Ranks of Women in Motorsports Are Growing Fast (Autoweek)
Highlights from the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup
The FIA World Rally Championship is redefining sustainability and in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup you will find out about a podcast that explains how. I also have details on how Lola made a splash at the Miami E-Prix, how the opportunities presented by sustainability, education, and inclusivity in motorsport are endless and Toyota’s position on racing hydrogen. All this and much more!
The Numbers
Formula One’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix averaged 1.46 million viewers on ESPN in the US, marking the fifth year-over-year (YoY) audience increase in a row. Meanwhile, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is enjoying its move to free-to-air (FTA) television, hitting at least one million average viewers for the tenth-straight race on The CW.
Motorsport Law Roundup
A look at some of the legal and regulatory issues and analysis in Motorsport this week
George Russell says he feels “no stress” over his ongoing wait for a new Mercedes deal because he believes long-term contracts in Formula 1 don’t really mean anything. “When it comes to contracts, everyone gets so excited about it, and the fact is, drivers have had contracts, and if they don’t perform, they’ll get booted out. For drivers, performance is our currency. That’s what we’ve got. And if you perform, everything’s good. So, I’m just excited to go racing this weekend, focus on performance, and the future sorts itself out.”
Richard Childress Racing’s appeal of the disqualification of driver Jesse Love from an apparent NASCAR Xfinity Series victory April 19 at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway was heard and upheld on Wednesday.
An Italian auto racing engineering support company has sued Lamborghini in Texas federal court, accusing the sports car manufacturer of swiping trade secrets related to steering wheel setups in vehicles used to compete in races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Law 360 has the details.
Motorsport Sponsorship, Partnership News and Analysis
Here are the latest motorsport sponsorship deals, partnerships and related analysis that were announced this week
- Explosive NASCAR Scandal: Christopher Bell’s Sponsorship Betrayal Rocks Joe Gibbs Racing (Motorcycle Sports)
- Sponsorship Revenue Breakdown in Top Motorsports Series (Larry Velasquez)
- Why Sponsors Sometimes Prefer Motorsport Behind a Paywall (The Motorsport Saga by Alan Dove)
- Mastercard and McLaren Racing bring partnership to life at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (ZAWYA)
- British F4 and Procaffeinate blend perfect partnership for 2025 (British F4)
- BWT Alpine Formula One Team and Matrix Fitness extend supplier collaboration (Alpine)
- C1RCUIT Watches continues as official partner of WERA Tools F4 British Championship (British F4)
- Castore out, Puma in at McLaren (Sport Business)
- Team Penske and Verizon partner with NFL’s Colts in veteran debt relief program (RACER)
- Kru Live link up with Nic Hamilton for motorsport return (SIG)
- Bell Racing Helmets and OMP join SRO America as Official Partners and Safety Providers (Racing Force)
- Summit Racing Equipment Extends Title Sponsorship of NHRA Jr. Drag Racing League (Motorsports Newswire)
- Rhude launches racing-inspired capsule collection with Pirelli (Fashion Network)
The Business of Running a Race Team
Brad Keselowski says there are different ownership challenges between the NASCAR series, saying, “I enjoy being an owner in the Cup Series the most.”
Williams boss James Vowles has outlined how spreading income and expenditure across different currencies has protected the team from the global financial uncertainty created by the recent tariff announcements from Donald Trump.
Team & Manufacturer News
Here is a roundup of the latest team news from around the world of motorsport
- Ferrari Is Poised To Make Endurance Racing History In 2025 (Maxim)
- Craft-Bamboo Racing Partners with Radical Motorsport to form Radical Japan (Radical Motorsport)
- Haas welcomes STEM RACING Students to Saudi Arabia GP (Ministry of Sport)
- Conway: RAFA Racing Team’s Multi-Series Effort a “Good Advantage” (Sportscar365)
- Venturini Motorsports Leaves Behind Storied ARCA Legacy (Front Stretch)
- McLaren to pull out of Formula E amid WEC entry – report (Motorsport Week)
- Pfaff Says ‘Ciao’ to Lamborghini (IMSA)
- Team HRC enters ENEOS Super Taikyu Series 2025 Empowered by BRIDGESTONE from the AUTOPOLIS race in July (HRC)
- Craft-Bamboo Returns To Super Taikyu With Ohta, Ojeda (Daily Sportscar)
- Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 HF makes competition debut (PMW)
- Another Ford Mustang joins GT4 Australia grid (SpeedCafe)
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.
