Formula 1

The FIA Formula One World Championship is the world's top open-wheel racing series, run commercially from London, generating US$3.87 billion in 2025 across 24 races on five continents.

スポーツ· ·4 論調 ·2026年7月3日

What it is

Formula 1 is the FIA Formula One World Championship, the highest class of open-wheel single-seater motorsport. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), headquartered in Paris, sets technical and sporting regulations, appoints race directors and stewards, and certifies car specifications. Commercial rights are held by Liberty Media's Formula One Management (FOM), headquartered in London, which negotiates race hosting fees, sells global media rights, and manages sponsorship contracts. Two parallel titles run each season: the Drivers' Championship, awarded to the highest-scoring individual, and the Constructors' Championship, awarded to the top team by combined driver points. As of 2026, a season spans 24 Grand Prix weekends from March through December across five continents, six of them incorporating the Sprint format. Eleven teams field two drivers each, for 22 grid starters.

History

The championship opened on May 13, 1950, at Silverstone Circuit in the UK, where Italian driver Giuseppe Farina won the inaugural race and went on to claim the first Drivers' title. The sport codified relationships between teams, the FIA, and the commercial rights holder through Concorde Agreements beginning in 1981, named after the Paris street where early talks were held. Bernie Ecclestone managed commercial rights from the late 1970s through 2016, expanding the series from European circuits into a global television property spanning more than 70 markets. Liberty Media, a US entertainment conglomerate, acquired the commercial rights in January 2017 for approximately US$8 billion with FIA approval, rebranding the holding as Formula One Group. Liberty's strategy pivoted the sport toward a US-facing entertainment model, including the Netflix docuseries "Drive to Survive" (debuting 2019), which drove viewership growth in the United States, Brazil, and Southeast Asia.

Current state

As of mid-2026, Formula One Group reported full-year 2025 revenue of US$3.87 billion, up 14% year-on-year, with operating income of US$632 million. Teams collectively received US$1.4 billion in prize payments, representing 59.7% of pre-payment adjusted earnings. Attendance at live race weekends reached 6.75 million across 24 events, up 4%, and live viewership grew 21% compared to 2024. The ninth Concorde Agreement was completed in two tranches: commercial terms signed March 2025 and governance terms signed December 12, 2025, binding all parties through 2030. New technical regulations introduced for the 2026 season redesigned aerodynamics and power unit specifications, admitting hybrid and sustainable fuel elements. Cadillac, backed by General Motors, joined as an 11th team for 2026, the first new US-headquartered constructor since Haas entered in 2016. In the 2026 Drivers' Championship, Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) led after eight rounds, with teammate George Russell 40 points behind after Russell's win at the Austrian Grand Prix on June 28. Mercedes had won seven of eight 2026 rounds.

Relationships

The FIA and Formula One Management operate under the Concorde Agreement, which specifies how prize money flows to the teams. Television rights revenue is split, with 50% going to teams by Constructors' Championship position; Ferrari receives a legacy bonus on top. Each of the ten privately owned teams is backed by an industrial or financial group, including Mercedes-Benz AG (Germany), Scuderia Ferrari (Italy), Red Bull GmbH (Austria), McLaren Group (UK), and Aston Martin (UK). Honda supplies power units to Aston Martin and Red Bull from 2026. Circuit hosts, including sovereign-wealth-backed venues in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore, pay annual sanctioning fees to FOM that collectively form F1's largest primary revenue stream.

What to watch

Whether the 2026 intra-Mercedes title contest, set up by Russell's Austrian GP win, leads to team orders as the points gap narrows in the second half of the season.
Cadillac's competitiveness in its debut year and its effect on the political dynamics inside the paddock and Concorde negotiations.
Liberty Media's proposed structural separation of the Formula One Group as a standalone listed company, which would establish a new equity market valuation for the sport.
US media rights arrangements, including the role of Apple TV, and whether a streaming-focused deal expands or fragments American viewership heading into the next rights cycle.

一次記録 · 4

Formula 1, Everything you need to know about Formula 1 — Official F1 explainer covering the championship's 1950 founding at Silverstone UK, the dual Drivers' and Constructors' titles, the 24-race 2026 calendar across five continents, 11 teams and 22 drivers, and the FIA's regulatory and governance role.

Liberty Media Corporation, Q4 and Full-Year 2025 Earnings Release — Confirms F1 2025 revenue of US$3.87 billion (up 14% YoY), operating income of US$632 million, team payouts of US$1.4 billion, 24 races held, 6.75 million cumulative attendance, and signing of the 2026-2030 Concorde Agreement with all teams and the FIA.

FIA, ninth Concorde Agreement signing announcement — FIA's official announcement of the ninth Concorde Agreement, signed December 12, 2025, binding the FIA, Formula 1 Group, and all 11 teams through 2030; covers regulatory framework, sporting governance, and principles of fairness and technological innovation.

Formula 1 Group, Concorde Governance Agreement confirmation — Formula One Group's own announcement confirming the governance tranche of the ninth Concorde Agreement, completing the two-part deal after commercial terms were signed in March 2025, with Cadillac joining as the 12th team.