Liberty Media Corp., the owner of the Formula 1 racing business, is seeking additional funds from the Principality of Monaco as part of preliminary negotiations for a new contract that will extend the historic auto race beyond 2025.
Monaco is paying about $20 million a year to host the event, the lowest amount on the 24-race calendar, and Liberty Media officials are seeking an increase, according to people familiar with the discussions. Parties agreed to the current three-year agreement in September 2022. This year the action begins May 24.
Like all major tourist attractions, the Monaco Grand Prix provides a major economic boost to the region, filling hotel rooms with sponsors large and small. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the race’s other two host countries, reportedly receive more than $50 million a year. estimates. The fees provide 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 ongoing negotiations but said the company was not considering pulling out of Monaco. The Automobile Club de Monaco, which organizes the race, did not respond to a request for comment.
Under CEO Greg Maffei, Liberty Media grew annual Formula One revenue by more than 50% from 2019 to $3.22 billion last year. The company has focused its efforts on expanding Formula 1 to countries outside of Europe, where the sport originated. There are currently three races being held in the United States – in Miami, Austin and Las Vegas – and there are persistent rumors that the race will be held in another US city.
In 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams suggested Randall’s Island as a potential venue, but Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali disagreed with the viability of the site, a small island of soccer fields that would be difficult to access for more than 300,000 fans. expected at the stadium. such an event.
Prime Minister of Thailand recently met with Formula 1 officials to discuss the Bangkok race.
The glamorous Monaco Grand Prix, held on the sun-drenched streets of Monte Carlo, is considered the most important event in motorsport. Monaco organizers are reluctant to change their business model much because they believe the history and prestige of their nearly 100-year-old circuit trump financial considerations, one person said. Many drivers live in Monaco.
But Formula One fans and famous drivers including Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have criticized the two-mile circuit as depressingly boring because the size of modern racing cars prevents them from making the bold passes and three-a-side racing that characterizes more modern circuits . let.
“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 this waived the right produce its own television coverage of the race in exchange for a new contract.
“Monaco epitomizes what Formula 1 is all about,” said Vincenzo Landino, a Formula 1 analyst and consultant who publishes the sport’s Qualifier newsletter. “If you take that away, I think you have a brand crisis.”