Formula 1 suffered significant drop in sales in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024. The income dropped from $ 403 million in the comparison period from $ 403 million (operating result before depreciation and amortizations) from $ 85 million, and the bottom line is even a loss of $ 28 million.
However, the reason for this is not a commercial weakness of Formula 1, but the racing calendar. In 2024, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Australia fell three lucrative Grands Prix with high event fees into the first quarter. In 2025 it was only two racing weekends with Australia and China. An effect that should compensate for in the numbers for the second quarter at the latest.
The further “the situation will go to the next quarter,” commented Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali the latest figures. Because then you will see “organic growth that we record everywhere. And that will be very clear.”
Regardless of the misleading numbers for the first quarter, Formula 1 continues to boom. With Barilla (food), Lego (toys) and PWC (auditor), three new global partnerships were made. The contract with the Miami Grand Prix was extended until 2041. And a total of 530,000 tickets were sold at several locations for the official Formula 1 exhibition.
In addition: “We have agreed the basis for the entry of Cadillac to the 2026 World Cup. In addition, we have made a new concorde agree with the teams for the period from 2026 to 2030, and we are making good progress in governance conditions,” explains Domenicali.
Formula 1 range grows and grows
In growth, the international ranges of Formula 1 are still located in the United States. The TV numbers (ESPN) are 45 percent in plus, the highlights on the official Formula 1 channel on YouTube with 31 percent, and a total of fan base has grown to 826 million people. In 2024 alone, 90 million new Formula 1 fans were added.
The Formula 1 share Fwonk (Nasdaq) is currently at a price of around $ 95 and has therefore recovered well from the intermediate low due to the Trump-Zölle ($ 77 on April 11). Compared to the course in early January ($ 92), the stock is even slightly up. The value of Formula 1 has almost quadrupled within five years.
Interesting in this context: The ranges of Motorsport-Total.com and Formel1.de, two of the leading Formula 1 platforms on the German-speaking Internet, also developed positively in the first quarter of 2025. Motorsport-Total.com is even 12.1 percent with 10.7 percent with 10.7 percent. Even though compared to 2024, one less racing weekend fell into the first quarter.
In 2024, Formula 1 generated sales of $ 3.4 billion and was therefore up to six percent compared to 2023. 1.3 billion were distributed to the ten teams. The bottom line was that an OIBDA of $ 791 million and a profit of $ 492 million was in 2024.