Revenue at motor racing's iconic Formula 1 (F1) increased by 53% year-on-year during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, contributing to parent company Liberty Media turning a $64 million profit during that period.
F1's revenues rising from $403 million to $617 million, during the three months up to March 31 this year, contributed to Liberty's overall revenue increasing from $447 million to $711 million.
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The latter figure also includes, for the first time, income from MotoGP – Liberty had not completed its purchase of that motorcycling series by Q1 last year, so it did not include the relevant figures in its Q1 2025 results.
As such, the $67 million loss sustained by Liberty the prior year turned into almost the same amount of profit for Q1 2026.
F1 itself also turned a profit, in this case of $107 million, and also produced adjusted OIBDA (operating income before depreciation and amortization) of $172 million in Q1.
F1's primary turnover (race promotion fees, media rights income, and sponsorship revenue) during the three months came to $496 million, up from $319 million the prior year – this rise was partly due to one extra race being held in Q1 this year as opposed to in Q1 of 2025. In total, three Grands Prix this season took place before the end of March.
Stefano Domenicali, president and chief executive (CEO) at Formula 1, has said: "We had a thrilling start to the season, both on and off the track, with increased overtaking and a highly competitive early season. We continue to see positive momentum across our business, including a strong start to our partnership with Apple in the US, a renewed multi-year agreement with our long-standing partner, Sky, and the addition of new commercial relationships, including those with Standard Chartered and Marsh."
The rise in revenue meant that payments to teams could increase, from $114 million to $184 million.
In terms of F1 activity, Q1 saw new commercial tie-ups struck with the Marsh, FanDuel, and Betway brands, as well as extensions with Salesforce and Allwyn.
The 22-race 2026 F1 season began in Melbourne, Australia, in early March and is running through until Abu Dhabi in early December.
For MotoGP, meanwhile, that series saw income rise by 25% year-on-year during Q1, to $94 million.
It did, however, sustain a $24 million loss during the period, while adjusted OIBDA increased by 60% on a pro-forma basis in Q1, coming to $16 million.
Primary MotoGP revenue during the three months came to $83 million (MotoGP has said it benefited from increased race promotion fees and sponsorship revenue across that period), with other revenue amounting to $11 million.
Liberty finalized the purchase of MotoGP through a deal initially unveiled in April of 2024, completed in July 2025. It now holds an 84% stake in the series, for which it ended up paying $3.1 billion, all told.
This year's MotoGP race calendar also contains 22 rounds and got underway at the start of March in Thailand.
Derek Chang, president and CEO at Liberty Media, stated: "Liberty Media is off to a strong start in 2026, with sustained momentum across Formula 1 and the implementation of our long-term strategy for MotoGP. Formula 1 continues to demonstrate the strength of its global platform, with growing audiences and deepening fan engagement driving robust demand across all commercial elements.
"We are excited by the meaningful opportunities to expand MotoGP’s commercial reach over time."
Liberty Media's full-year revenue for 2025, released in late February, came to $4.48 billion, with F1 income contributing $3.87 billion of that figure.
