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According to Liberty’s fourth quarter results, which were released today, Formula 1 had a total revenue of $3.222 billion in the 12 months to December 31.
“2023 marked another incredible season for Formula 1,” said F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali.
“We had strong engagement across all platforms, with record race attendance and F1 holding its position as the fastest growing league on social media for the fourth consecutive year.
“F1 saw continued fan growth especially in the US market, strengthened by the successful Las Vegas Grand Prix, and across a younger and more female audience.
“Our sustainability initiatives remain a priority for F1 and our partners, and we look forward to running all seven F1 Academy races this season alongside the F1 calendar.
“We are excited for the 2024 season as we focus on deepening our relationships with fans and optimizing our commercial partnerships to bring incremental value.”
While Liberty Media saw a 25 percent uptick in revenues, that translated to only a five percent increase to teams.
Payments to teams came to 1.215 billion for 2023, up from $1.157 billion.
In total, 45 percent of F1’s forecast income for the year is paid out to teams as prize money, meaning if the sport performs ahead of expectations, it is to the benefit of Liberty Media.
Prize money is payable to teams based on a complicated structure defined within the secretive Concorde Agreement.
The percentages paid out has changed in recent years, with a more equitable split from the front to the back of the grid.
F1 derives its revenue from three primary sources: race promotion, media rights, and sponsorships.
Last year, those areas combined contributed just under 80 percent of the sport’s primary revenue.
“Race promotion revenue grew primarily due to ticketing revenue from the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix and other contractual increases in fees,” Liberty Media’s statement of the results announced.
“Race promotion revenue in the full year and fourth quarter also benefited from the mix of races held in each period compared to the comparable periods in the prior year.
“Sponsorship revenue increased due to the recognition of revenue from the Las Vegas Grand Prix, income from new sponsors and growth in revenue from existing sponsors.
“Media rights revenue grew due to increased fees under new and renewed contractual agreements and continued growth in F1 TV subscription revenue.
“Other F1 revenue increased in the full year and fourth quarter primarily driven by higher hospitality revenue generated from the delivery of hospitality and experiences at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as well as Paddock Club growth at other events, with full year growth partially offset by lower freight income driven by the easing of freight cost inflation on billing rates.”
The net result was a yearly operating income of $392 million, a 64 percent rise on the previous year’s $239 million.
