Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says the series in its strongest position after revealing it generated over £2 billion ($2.5bn) in revenue last year.
The series’ owner Liberty Media presented its latest set of financial results on Wednesday, with revenue from F1 coming to £626 million ($754) over the final quarter of 2022.
The represented a fall of 4% compared to the same period in 2021. However F1 held only six races during that period last year compared to seven the year before.
F1’s revenues rose year-on-year by 20%, despite holding the same number of races last year as it did the previous season. The 2023 F1 calendar features a record-breaking 23 rounds.
The series paid out £964m ($1.16bn) to its 10 competing teams. The financial health of its competitors is better than it has been for years, and several newcomers have expressed interest in joining the championship. The FIA began a formal process for new entrants to apply last month.
“I think F1 is in the strongest position it has ever been,” Domenicali told a call for investors after the results were announced.
He said “growing fan engagement” in the sport had been driven by increased action in races due to the new technical regulations which he said had allowed cars to race together more closely.
The 2022 season “saw record attendance at grand prix events,” according to Domenicali. “We welcomed more than 5.7 million fans to race weekends, up 36% compared to 2019. Demand is continuing into 2023, with sell-out crowds expected at a number of races this season.”
The increased interest in F1 was reflected in growing viewership online and through television, said Domenicali.
“Cumulative TV audiences for the 2022 season was 1.54 billion and average viewership for races was 70 million,” he said. “US viewership was up 36% compared to 2021, with an average of 1.2 million viewers tuning in on race days. Looking at some other markets, Italy viewership grew 22%, Australia was up 20% and Germany viewership grew 9%.”
“F1 was once again the fastest-growing major sport league on the planet in 2022 in terms of social media followers,” he added. “We had 60.6 million total followers, up 23% from 2021, and saw significant growth in markets like the US, where social followers were up 42% versus 2021 to 4.5 million.”
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