Liberty Media and Formula 1 sign a new quarter at the top in terms of revenue
Formula 1 is doing well economically. As it prepares to host the Las Vegas Grand Prix next week, owner Liberty Media releases its financial report, revealing that Formula 1 has never been in such a strong financial position as it was between July and September 2023. With record sums, increases, and major upcoming events for F1, everything seems to be going well.
Liberty Media announced this Friday that Formula 1 has generated $887 million in total revenue between July and September. This figure represents a 24% increase compared to last year when F1 ended the same third quarter with $715 million. It should be noted that this quarter included eight races, instead of seven in 2022. While F1’s operating income increased by 61% to reach $132 million, operating expenses, including team payments, also increased, but to a lesser extent: +24%.
Liberty Media had achieved in 2022 a record revenue of over $2.5 billion, including $239 million (€226 million). As for the Formula 1 teams, they had shared a sum of approximately €1.078 billion ($1 billion). This represents an average of over €107 million ($107 million) in revenue from F1 alone. This amount depends on the results during their season and their position in the rankings.
Las Vegas for a record-breaking Grand Prix?
The second half of the season promises to be very interesting. Indeed, Formula 1 is preparing to host the Las Vegas Grand Prix on November 18. It hopes to generate around $500 million in revenue. This Grand Prix is expected to be one of the most important events in the history of the company. Liberty Media claims to have secured record sponsorship deals for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, partnering with brands such as Moët Hennessy (from the LVMH group) and Google Chrome. More importantly, we believe that the Las Vegas experience will create business opportunities beyond the race itself and benefit the wider F1 ecosystem, said Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media.
« Vegas turns out to be a bigger spectacle and has a greater impact than we had anticipated, but there are also initial startup costs. There are a number of initial costs that are higher than what we had estimated, but we remain optimistic about the overall impact of Formula 1 in Las Vegas, and the potential for this race to be profitable. »
Liberty, who recently acquired the sports and entertainment company Quint for $313 million, has almost sold out of tickets for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, according to its executives on Friday. The future looks bright for this brand new Grand Prix, which will take place on November 19th, with a grand opening ceremony on Wednesday, November 15th.
