Liberty Media Corp, which owns the Formula 1 racing business, is seeking additional funds from the Principality of Monaco as part of advanced talks to reach a new contract to extend the historic motor race beyond 2025.
Monaco pays about $20 million annually to host the event, the lowest total on the 24-race calendar, and Liberty Media representatives are seeking a raise, according to people familiar with the discussions. the parties Agreed for the current three-year deal in September 2022. This year, Work begins On May 24th.
Like all major tourist attractions, the Monaco Grand Prix provides a major economic boost to the region, filling hotel rooms with spenders big and small. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the two countries hosting the race, receive more than $50 million annually, according to some. Estimates. The fee provides Formula 1 with the funds it uses to pay out prize money at the end of each season.
A Formula 1 spokesman declined to comment on the current talks, but said the company was not considering withdrawing from Monaco. The Automobile Club of Monaco, which organizes the race, did not respond to a request for comment.
Under the leadership of CEO Greg Maffei, Liberty Media has increased annual Formula 1 revenues by more than 50% since 2019 to reach $3.22 billion last year. The company focused on expanding Formula 1 to countries outside Europe, where the sport originated. The US is now hosting three races – in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas – and there have been persistent rumors of a race coming to another US city.
In 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams presented Randall's Island as a potential venue, but Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali disagreed over the feasibility of such a location, a small island of ballparks that would be difficult to access for the expected more than 100,000 fans. 300,000 in 2022. Such an event.
Prime Minister of Thailand I met recently With Formula 1 officials to discuss the race in Bangkok.
Held on the sunny streets of Monte Carlo, the glamorous Monaco Grand Prix is a landmark event in motorsport. Monaco organizers were not willing to change their business model because they were confident that the history and prestige of their nearly 100-year-old circuit trumped financial considerations, one of the people said. Many drivers live in Monaco.
But Formula 1 fans and prominent racers, including Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, have criticized the two-mile track as unfairly boring, with the size of modern race cars preventing them from the bold passes and parallel three-way racing that more modern circuits offer. Allow.
Seven-times world champion Hamilton said after finishing third there in 2022: “Thank God it's over, that was the most boring race I've ever been in.”
The emirate has had to change in the past. Two years ago, that Give up the truth to produce its own television coverage of the race in exchange for a new contract.
“Monaco embodies what Formula 1 is all about,” said Vincenzo Landino, a Formula One analyst and consultant who publishes Qualifying, a newsletter about the sport. “If you got rid of that, you would now have a brand crisis, in my opinion.”
