Motorsport: Formula 1 and MotoGP, the world's two global racing championships

What it is

Formula 1 and MotoGP are the two largest global motorsport properties by revenue, audience, and manufacturer investment. Formula 1 runs closed-cockpit, open-wheel single-seaters on purpose-built circuits across five continents; MotoGP runs prototype motorcycles in three classes (MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3). Both operate through a split governance structure: a sports federation sets the technical and sporting rules, while a commercial rights holder monetizes media rights, hosting fees, and sponsorships. The FIA (Paris) governs F1 sporting regulations; the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) governs MotoGP's rules. A world-news reader tracks motorsport because it concentrates billions of US dollars annually, channels Gulf sovereign investment and petrostate sponsorship, and serves as an arena for direct manufacturer rivalry among Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.

History

Grand Prix motorcycle racing began in 1949 under FIM governance, with the first World Championship running on circuits in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium, and Spain. The premier class was rebranded MotoGP in 2002. Formula 1 opened on May 13, 1950, at Silverstone, United Kingdom. Both sports were long dominated by European manufacturers and venues. Formula 1's commercial rights were consolidated by Bernie Ecclestone from the late 1970s; Liberty Media acquired F1 in January 2017 for approximately US$8 billion. Dorna Sports held MotoGP's commercial rights from 1992 under CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta. In July 2025, Liberty Media completed a EUR 4.3 billion acquisition of Dorna, gaining an 84% ownership stake and placing both championships under a single commercial umbrella for the first time. Ezpeleta retained 16% and continued as MotoGP CEO. In February 2026, the company was renamed MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group.

Current state

As of early July 2026, Formula 1 runs a 24-race season across five continents, with 11 constructor teams and 22 drivers. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) leads the Drivers' Championship by 40 points over teammate George Russell after eight rounds; Mercedes has won seven of eight 2026 rounds. The most recent round, the Austrian Grand Prix, saw Russell win from pole at the Red Bull Ring. Liberty Media reported US$3.87 billion in F1 revenue for 2025 and 1.83 billion cumulative television viewers for the season. See the F1 dossier for full institutional detail.

MotoGP's 2026 calendar covers 22 rounds. After the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen (late June), Jorge Martín led the Riders' Championship ahead of Pedro Acosta (133 points) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 130 points). Marc Marquez (Ducati), the nine-time world champion, had won back-to-back rounds including the Czech Grand Prix, cutting a deficit that earlier in the season exceeded 100 points. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) dominated the opening seven rounds, winning four of them, before a crash and a race exclusion for assaulting a marshal dropped him from contention. MotoGP contributed US$325 million to Liberty's Formula One Group in 2025.

Relationships

Both championships are commercial subsidiaries of Liberty Media's Formula One Group (NASDAQ: FWON), enabling unified cross-promotion and potential bundled sponsorship packages. Saudi Aramco is F1's title sponsor and carries sponsorship exposure across MotoGP events, a convergence tracked under sportswashing. Honda competes as a power unit supplier in F1 (to Aston Martin and Red Bull from 2026) and simultaneously as a factory motorcycle manufacturer in MotoGP. Ducati dominates MotoGP's premier class but has no current F1 programme. Some circuits, including Sepang (Malaysia) and Circuit of the Americas (United States), have hosted both championships in the same or adjacent calendar years.

What to watch

• Whether Liberty Media packages F1 and MotoGP streaming rights jointly, and how that reshapes the next broadcast rights cycle in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
• The intra-Mercedes title contest in F1, and whether the team imposes orders as Russell narrows the gap to Antonelli in the second half of the 2026 season.
• Marquez's MotoGP title challenge: whether back-to-back Ducati form can sustain against Martín and Bagnaia through the second half of the 2026 calendar.
• FIM safety rule responses following high-speed incidents in MotoGP that drew scrutiny in 2025-2026.
• Cadillac's debut season in F1 as the first new US-headquartered constructor since Haas entered in 2016, and the political dynamics it introduces inside the paddock.