Media Freedom Corp., owner of the Formula 1 racing business, is seeking additional funds from the principality of Monaco as part of advanced negotiations for a new contract to extend the historic motor race beyond 2025.
Monaco pays about $20 million a year to host the event, the lowest total on the 24-race calendar, and Liberty Media representatives are seeking an increase, according to people familiar with the discussions. The parts agreed to the current three-year agreement in September 2022. This year, the the action begins on May 24.
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. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, two other hosts of the race, pay more than $50 million a year, according to some. estimates. These fees provide Formula 1 with the funds it uses to pay out prize money at the end of each season.
A Formula 1 spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing negotiations, but said the company was not considering pulling out of Monaco. The Automobile Club of Monaco, organizer of the race, did not respond to a request for comment.
Under the leadership of CEO Greg Maffei, Liberty Media has grown its annual Formula 1 revenue by more than 50% since 2019 to $3.22 billion last year. The company has focused on expanding Formula 1 to countries beyond Europe, where the sport originated. The United States now hosts three races – in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas – and there are persistent rumors of a race in another American city.
In 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams proposed Randall’s Island as a potential location, but Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali disagreed on the viability of this location, a small island of ballfields that would be difficult to access for the more than 300,000 fans expected at the event. such an event.
The Prime Minister of Thailand recently met with F1 officials to discuss a race in Bangkok.
The glamorous Monaco Grand Prix, which takes place on the sunny streets of Monte Carlo, is considered a must-see motorsport event. Monaco organizers are not willing to change their business model much because they are convinced that the history and prestige of their nearly 100-year-old circuit outweighs financial considerations, one person said. Most drivers live in Monaco.
But Formula 1 fans and top racers including Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have criticized the three-kilometre track as terribly boring because the size of modern racing cars prohibits them from daring passes and three-a-side races than more modern circuits. allow.
“Thank God it’s over, it was the most boring race I’ve ever been in,” seven-time world champion Hamilton said after finishing third there in 2022.
The principality has been forced to change in the past. Two years ago, he waived the right produce its own television coverage of the race in exchange for a new contract.
“Monaco embodies what F1 is all about,” said Vincenzo Landino, an F1 analyst and consultant who publishes Qualifier, a sports newsletter. “If you get rid of it, you now have a brand crisis, in my opinion.”
