Hot wheels

FORMULA ONE teams earned more than £1BILLION in prize money in the 2025 season, according to Liberty Media’s latest financial results.

Liberty Media, who have owned F1 since 2017, released the eye-watering figures in their latest financial results.

Total revenue for the sport surged by 14 per cent to a staggering £3.1bn in 2025.

Operating income also jumped to £496million as the sport continues its transformation into a global social media juggernaut.

The boom was fuelled by 6.75 million fans attending live races — up four per cent on 2024.

Brad Pitt‘s record-breaking F1 movie — now the highest-grossing sports film ever — and a fresh US TV deal with Apple also underpinned the growth.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix was also a massive winner, generating 1.8 billion social media impressions.

Teams felt the benefit of the cash cow as they shared a prize pot of £1.036bn.

The payout is split based on performance and historical “heritage” payments.

Ferrari reportedly earn five per cent of the entire fund simply because of their standing in the sport.

McLaren raced to the Constructors’ Championship last year ahead of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari.

Drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished first and third in the drivers’ standings.

Curiously, the 10 teams who competed in 2025 received a slightly smaller slice of the pie than the year before.

Their share decreased to 59.7 per cent from 61.5 per cent in 2024.

The report also revealed a £37m “incentive payment” following the signing of a new Concorde agreement which welcomes an 11th team to the grid.

Media rights remain the driving force, making up 31.3 per cent of total revenue.

Liberty Media also celebrated growth with MotoGP, which they acquired last year. The motorbike championship saw profit rocket by 86 per cent to £40m.

Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang said: “2025 was an exceptional and productive year for Liberty, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead.

“We delivered on our key strategic objectives – strengthening F1’s growth trajectory, completing the MotoGP acquisition and streamlining our structure following the Liberty Live split-off last December.

“This year, we remain focused on sustaining F1’s momentum, positioning MotoGP for future growth and remaining disciplined yet opportunistic with our capital to drive shareholder value.”

The 2026 F1 season starts in Australia on March 8 -Sun.