Formula 1 posted impressive figures in 2025. Extraordinary growth in new fans and revenues, alongside the long-awaited financial sustainability of the teams, has reshaped the championship’s economic landscape. The 2026 season is shaping up as a year of consolidation, but the long-term objective will increasingly shift towards the quality of the on-track spectacle.
Formula 1 continues to grow at a remarkable pace. After the difficult Covid period, the rebound has exceeded all expectations, surprising even the most optimistic analysts. Data released by Liberty Media outline a solid and well-structured trend, with progress recorded across multiple areas. The global fan base has reached a record 827 million followers, a figure that places Formula 1 at the top with an 11.4% advantage over the NBA audience. The demographic profile of fans is also evolving: 43% are now under the age of 35, confirming an increasingly young audience. Female fans account for 42% of the total, with 43 million new women followers compared to the previous season, a clear signal of a broader and more diversified fan base.
On the television front, by the end of November 2025 more than one billion viewers had already tuned in to Formula 1 Grands Prix, with particularly strong growth in the United States, China, Australia, Canada and Brazil. Average race weekend audiences reached 70 million viewers, while sprint weekends recorded a 19% increase. In the United States specifically, television viewership grew by 7%, a figure that fits into a broader context of an 11% expansion of the national fan base, now estimated at 52 million enthusiasts. Digital audiences are also accelerating: views of highlights on Formula 1’s official YouTube channel increased by 30%, with more than half of viewers under the age of 35.
Social media followers have climbed to 111 million, driven primarily by TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. According to industry reports, Formula 1 remains the fastest-growing sport across social platforms, a position that underlines the strength of the brand in engaging with younger generations. Attendance at circuits has also delivered positive signals: in 2024, nearly seven million spectators attended races across the 24 circuits on the calendar, with sell-outs missed on only five occasions. Silverstone once again confirmed its status as the most attended event of the season, welcoming 500,000 spectators from Thursday to Sunday.
The financial boom
Recent estimates suggest that Formula 1 in 2025 may have reached revenues close to four billion dollars, building on the 3.65 billion recorded in 2024 and the 9% increase seen across the first three quarters of the year. For the teams, this growth is far from marginal: the prize money distributed by Liberty Media is expected to approach 1.4 billion dollars, a figure that comes close to a new all-time high for revenue sharing.
Investors are also smiling. In January 2017, when Liberty Media acquired the commercial rights to Formula 1, the FWONK stock was trading at 26 dollars on Wall Street, before falling below 20 dollars during the 2020 lockdown. Since then, its value has followed a steady upward trajectory, surpassing 100 dollars in recent months and reflecting renewed market confidence in Formula 1’s commercial model.
The most striking aspect, however, is the rapid increase in team valuations. On 21 August 2020, Williams was acquired by Dorilton Capital for 170 million dollars, followed by a similar level of investment aimed at restructuring the team. Today, according to multiple confirmations from within the paddock, the team would be valued at no less than 1.8 billion dollars. These rumours find indirect confirmation in Toto Wolff’s sale of a 5% stake in the Mercedes F1 Team, a transaction worth 265 million euros, implying a total team valuation of more than five billion euros.
Two converging factors have driven this extraordinary growth: rising revenues, including guaranteed payments from Liberty Media and sponsorship income, and the introduction of the budget cap, which has limited costs and improved the financial predictability of team operations. Not all teams are yet able to generate profits for shareholders, but positive signals are clearly emerging. Public data released in 2025, referring to the previous season, show that Mercedes reported a net profit of over 130 million euros on revenues exceeding 700 million euros. In the past, results of this scale would have fuelled additional technical investment, but today the cost cap prevents that approach.
2026: growth or consolidation?
Within the paddock, many are now asking where the centre of gravity for growth will shift next. The United States remains the market with the greatest potential for commercial expansion, but elsewhere it is difficult to imagine double-digit growth comparable to that of recent years. The calendar has reached its maximum of 24 races, with long-term contracts already in place, and even the Paddock Club, a key revenue stream, has effectively reached capacity, limiting further logistical expansion.
Television revenues can only increase if the on-track product continues to attract new viewers, a major question mark on the eve of the 2026 technical revolution. As often happens, national market interest tends to follow cycles linked to iconic drivers: Germany during the eras of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel, Spain with Fernando Alonso, and today the Netherlands with Max Verstappen. The rise of one country often coincides with the slowdown of another, in a natural and cyclical alternation.
For Liberty Media, a phase of consolidation may therefore lie ahead. Growth remains a central objective, but it is unlikely to continue at the same pace seen over the past five years. Following the entry of Cadillac, the paddock gates have effectively been closed, with the number of teams set to remain at eleven for many years, just as the number of Grands Prix on the calendar appears stable. All teams are expected to reach full financial sustainability in the near future, while drivers entering the market primarily thanks to financial backing will become increasingly rare. Formula 1’s foundations are solid, but significant work remains, particularly on the sporting and regulatory fronts. With the race towards financial stability largely complete, the priority now becomes the quality of the spectacle: regulations capable of guaranteeing clear competition and less predictable outcomes. It will be no small challenge.
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