Formula 1 revenues rise to US$381 million in first quarter

Liberty Media-owned Formula 1 has advised of revenues of US$381 million for the first quarter of 2023, a slight increase on the US$360 million it generated for the same period in 2022.

Primary revenue for the motorsport series, which is derived from race promotion revenue, media rights fees and sponsorship fees, accounted for US$314 million of the overall revenue figure.

Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortisation (OIBDA) in the first quarter of 2023 was US$117 million, compared to US$122 million during the same period last year.

Total Formula One Group OIBDA fell from US$112 million to US$105 million year-on-year.

Team payments increased from US$100 million to US$112 million due to the pro-rata recognition of increased payments across the season, while selling, general and administrative expenses rose from US$43 million to US$58 million due to higher personnel, IT and marketing costs.

Additionally, it has incurred around US$6 million of costs associated with the planning of this year’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix included in selling, general and administrative expenses.

Liberty Media said that media rights revenue increased in the first quarter of 2023 due to continued growth in F1 TV subscription revenue and increased fees under new and renewed contractual agreements. Race promotion revenue grew due to contractual increases in fees, and sponsorship revenue increased due to recognition of revenue from new sponsors and growth in revenue from existing sponsors.

Commenting on the results, F1 President and Chief Executive, Stefano Domenicali stated “the F1 season is off to a fantastic start, with thrilling races to date and many more to come on our record 23-race 2023 calendar.

“The race weekends are drawing huge crowds, with the Australian Grand Prix hosting 445,000 fans and sellouts for the majority of the remaining calendar. The power of our platform continues to draw interest also from commercial partners, with a number of new and expanded sponsors already announced season-to-date.”

The figures for the quarter follow Liberty Media having announced in March that F1’s revenue for the 2022 financial year had risen to US$2.57 billion, with the figures boosted by record attendances at its races.

The figure marked an increase on 2021, when the series generated US$2.14bn in revenue. Operating income also rose from US$92 million in 2021 to US$239 million in 2022.

While there was a full 22-race calendar in 2021 there were still some restrictions on attendance in place, but last year with those finally gone and F1 continuing to benefit worldwide from the Netflix series the Drive to Survive boost, the numbers rose significantly.

The increasing interest in the sport was reflected in a claimed overall fan attendance of 5.7 million, which represents a rise of 36% since 2019, the last season not impacted by COVID restrictions prior to 2022.

Last year overall revenue was up 20% from US$2.136 billion to US$2.573 billion, while the operating income of the business - the number left after the teams were paid and other costs taken into account - rose from US$92 million to US$239 million.

Image: Crowds at the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix. Credit: Singapore GP Pte Ltd.