The Vaucher Analytics State of Motorsport 2025: F1

Revenue optimization
Written By David Vaucher

This article is the fourth and final entry in a series looking at the state of several major motorsport organizations:

F1 is stronger than ever, but responsible growth management matters now, more than at any point in its modern history

Formula 1 enters 2026 in a position no other motorsport can match.

It is not just the most-watched racing series in the world; it has crossed into mainstream culture in a way that would’ve been unthinkable a decade ago.

F1 is about as close to a monoculture as we have now, because unlike soccer, it is very popular in the United States and on an upward trajectory.

Drivers have become fashion figures and influencers.

Teams resemble global entertainment brands.

Each race weekend is now an episode in a year-long narrative, not merely a sporting event.

F1 is, for all practical purposes, in a category of one, but today’s cultural dominance cannot be taken for granted, because the central tension is now: how to sustain this growth without distorting the competitive, cultural, or commercial foundations that made it possible in the first place?

Is F1 a true entertainment “star”, or is it, on the scale of pop culture, a comet which will burn too brightly for a moment, then burn out?

Below are the structural forces and events that marked F1 in 2025, the very same ones that will determine how much more glimmering this “Golden Era” can get.

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The cultural peak: F1 breaks fully into pop culture

2025 confirmed that F1’s cultural footprint is growing, even if I wouldn’t personally qualify it as globally entrenched as soccer.

Three developments, in particular, symbolized this shift:

This is no longer the niche European championship it once was; F1 is now an entertainment product with global star power.

The Apple deal changes everything

Proof of F1’s commercial appeal was solidified in several title sponsor “mega-deals” such as Williams partnering with Atlassian and McLaren partnering with Mastercard, but these don’t have the potential to catapult F1 even further into popular culture.

The most important commercial development of 2025 was Apple becoming the exclusive US broadcast partner of Formula 1.

The implications are enormous:

  • F1 will be integrated across the Apple ecosystem

  • F1 gains a distribution partner with unmatched control over hardware, software, and content delivery

  • Apple gains a premium live sports property that aligns with its brand and the success of the F1 movie, in which it played a key role

This is F1’s biggest step toward becoming a global media platform, not just a racing series, because you can be sure that if this campaign goes well in the US, the biggest consumer market in the world, it will be rolled out in as many places outside of that country as it can be.

But there is a downside: fragmented access could frustrate casual fans if not managed carefully.

Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of F1, said earlier this year that perhaps F1 should consider shorter races because fans appear to consume more highlights than full events.

Is this true, or is it perhaps that many fans simply can’t afford or otherwise easily access full races?

Apple can elevate the product, but F1 must ensure it does not inadvertently narrow its funnel as it expands its reach.

The competitive landscape: A season of resetting narratives

On the sporting side, 2025 delivered (towards the back-half) a refreshingly unpredictable championship that kept fans’ interest to the very end, and gave new fans plenty of incentive to become engrossed in F1, even if they were late to the party:

  • Lando Norris captured the title. There was some controversy around “Papaya Rules” and his role next to teammate Oscar Piastri, but none of that is worth getting into here. What is worth mentioning is that Lando Norris is arguably F1’s most popular driver, certainly among younger fans, so the combination of his current status, plus the fact that he drives for McLaren (a commercially very powerful team), plus the fact that he’s a British driver at a British team, means that he will appear on even more billboards from now on.

  • Max Verstappen reinforced his status as an all-time great. I don’t view Verstappen as a media figure in the same way I do Lando Norris, but his performance certainly moved cans of Red Bull in 2025!

  • Rookies performed impressively. Six rookies had seats in F1 at the beginning of the season; some did not do well but the majority did, and this infusion of youth is key to sustaining interest in new fans.

Overall, this was a fun season, a fitting end to this era of F1 and an upbeat way of going into F1’s major overhaul in 2026.

The roster problem: F1’s talent pipeline is tightening

2025 saw six rookies join the F1 grid.

In 2026, two seats are being added to the grid with Cadillac’s arrival, a rare occurrence, yet the veterans Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas will fill them; Arvid Lindblad will be the only rookie elevated to an F1 seat, next to Liam Lawson at Racing Bulls.

The FIA has a very clear single-seater ladder, technically starting with karting, but certainly starting in earnest with F4, then F3, F2 and F1.

It is no longer a given that the F2 champion will find a spot in an F1 seat, simply because drivers can, and do, stay put at the top level.

Furthermore, F1, like any workplace, is not a full meritocracy, there are other issues besides driver performance that determine whether someone is picked for a seat.

This isn’t a crisis, but it is a signal:

  • Teams now prioritize experience, predictability, and sponsor stability

  • Young drivers face fewer openings and longer wait times to get their shot

  • The ladder system risks losing credibility if its champions can’t advance somewhat predictably

As F1 becomes more commercially valuable, the competitive risk tolerance of teams naturally shrinks.

That tension will need monitoring because the sport needs new talent to keep it commercially viable and fresh over the course of decades.

The grid is now filled with drivers still in their teens all the way up to a couple in their 40’s. Naturally, the fan bases for each are different, and though there is plenty to be said about experience on-track, there is also something else to be said about bringing in new drivers who also bring in new and more diverse fans.

It may be tempting now to stick with proven drivers, but ten or fifteen years from now, where will all the new fans be?

Manufacturers and team valuations: F1 becomes an asset class

2025 also marked a shift in how F1 teams are viewed: less like racing outfits and more like global entertainment assets.

The Liberty Media model of guaranteed events, rising broadcast fees, and unified marketing, has boosted the business side of the series, and team valuations are now approaching the point where even non-competitive teams are financially attractive simply by virtue of holding a grid slot.

This is F1 at its most economically secure in modern history.

Regulation changes ahead: Opportunity and risk

The 2026 power unit and aerodynamic regulations represent a massive technical overhaul.

New rules always introduce redistributions of power, which makes for a very promising 2026 season as the entire grid order is reshuffled and fans get to see the results of years of hard work by every team.

While it’s unlikely that Cadillac will have a Brawn GP moment, the foundation for some excellent stories is set, however there are risks:

  • The cost cap is increasing in 2026 and teams will have to understand how to best deploy their extra resources

  • Brands could reassess sponsorship commitments depending on how competitive their partners are under the new rules

  • The on-track product could initially regress before stabilizing

  • Displeased drivers whose negativity comes across often and strongly, turning off fans

But let’s bring focus back to what are some very promising opportunities:

  • A more balanced field if the regulations land correctly

  • Better racing that makes for more highlights, which in turn brings in new fans

  • A new foundation off of which to base new innovations

Handled poorly, it could create boring races or, if someone managed to nail the formula early, another years-long string of dominance.

Handled well, 2026 could launch a multi-year competitive renaissance.

Managing growth: F1 must avoid overreach

How much of F1 is sport, and how much is entertainment?

Sustaining F1’s growth will require delicate tuning of that balance, and at the same time, F1 must ensure:

  • Fan conduct remains healthy and safe, especially after incidents such as the online threats directed at Kimi Antonelli

  • Access doesn’t become a victim of exclusivity, even under premium broadcast partnerships

  • The sport remains attainable to follow, both financially and culturally

When a sport becomes this popular, protecting its sporting and cultural center becomes as important as expanding its reach, because it’s that central legitimacy that enables future growth.

The State of F1 in 2025: A league in command, but entering a critical phase

Taken together, the story of F1 in 2025 is one of strength paired with new strategic responsibility.

  • The cultural footprint is enormous

  • The commercial partners are world-class

  • The competitive narrative is healthy

  • The sport is preparing for a major technical transition

F1 is not in danger, but it is in a moment where how it grows matters more than how much it grows.

If managed well, the Apple partnership, the 2026 regulations, incoming manufacturers, and a new generation of talent can solidify F1’s next era.

If mismanaged, the sport risks widening the gap between spectacle and substance, and eventually the structure will crumble.

Formula 1 has reached a height few would have predicted fifteen years ago, but I would argue it is still not as globally relevant as soccer.

That sport has had decades of historic exposure displayed for the world to see. F1 is also not new, but much of its history was written away from the public eye, when it was very much a closed-off spectacle until Bernie Ecclestone made his mark, and Drive To Surive still took decades to appear after that!

And, of course, a young person wanting to become the next Messi simply has to get a ball, whereas anyone wanting to challenge Verstappen or Norris’s skills has to have a lot more available to them.

In the global and cultural sense, F1 is in its infancy, and what comes next will depend on F1’s ability to preserve the foundations that made its ascent possible, while continuing to innovate, with the goal of becoming the most inclusively exclusive sport the world has ever seen.

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Main image source: Chethan Kanakamurthy

David Vaucher
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