The Formula 1 organisation continued to increase both revenue and operating income during the 2024 season – but Liberty Media admits that a poorer performance by the Las Vegas GP in its second season had an impact on the overall figures.
The headline numbers were up in part because there were 24 races in 2024, as opposed to 22 the previous year, with China returning and Imola back after the 2023 flood cancellation.
Revenue by was up 6% from $3,222 million to $3,411 million, while operating income rose from $392 million to $492 million, a gain of 26%.
While the numbers continued the upward trend Liberty concedes that the Las Vegas GP, which feeds directly into revenue as the only race promoted in-house, was not as successful as in its inaugural year.
Liberty notes that “sponsorship revenue grew due to recognition of revenue from new sponsors, contractual increases from existing sponsors and additional sponsorship inventory with two additional races held.
“Media rights revenue increased due to contractual increases in fees and continued growth in F1 TV subscription revenue.
“Race promotion revenue grew primarily due to fees from the two additional races held compared to the prior year, following the return of China and Imola to the calendar, as well as contractual increases in fees, partially offset by lower ticketing revenue generated from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.”
It added that “growth in hospitality income at most events and higher freight and licensing revenue was offset by lower hospitality revenue generated from the Las Vegas Grand Prix.”
However F1 also gained from the “lower event promotion, hospitality and experiences costs incurred in promoting and delivering the Las Vegas Grand Prix compared to the prior year.”
The 10 F1 teams shared payments between them of $1,266 million, up 4% from $125 million the previous year.
Despite the Las Vegas setback F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali remains bullish after the overall numbers continued to rise.
“Formula 1 capped off a record 2024 in race count, revenue and Adjusted OIBDA,” he said. “We are equally optimistic about 2025 as we mark F1’s 75th anniversary which will provide incremental momentum for our brand, and we celebrated this milestone by welcoming the entire F1 community to a first of its kind season launch event at The O2 last week.
“Our sponsorship roster is the strongest in the sport’s history and the commercial pipeline remains robust. This commercial success is paired with on-track excitement, as we expect more intense competition after last season’s highly competitive championship and we welcome several rookie drivers to the grid.”
Adam Cooper F1 