Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 promoter Formula Motorsport Limited posted record pre-tax profits of €18.6 million (£15.5 million) in 2023, an increase of over 300% on the previous year.
The figures were listed in its annual accounts, published by Companies House in the United Kingdom last week.
Formula Motorsport is part of Delta Topco (the Formula One Group’s holding company) under the ultimate ownership of Liberty Media Corporation, and has the rights “to promote and commercially exploit” both championships under agreements with the FIA which run until 2041.
In 2023, the latest period for which financial information is available, turnover for the company jumped from €47.2 million to €64.8 million, the highest figure the company has recorded in its 20-year history.
| Year | Turnover | Profit before tax |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | €64.8 million | €18.6 million |
| 2022 | €47.2 million | €4.4 million |
| 2021 | €40.1 million | €8.5 million |
| 2020 | €32.7 million | -€0.3 million |
| 2019 | €42.4 million | €3.6 million |
Profits rebounded after a 52% decrease in 2022, which had been caused primarily by the return to a full calendar after the changes made to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in increased event and travel costs, in addition to “cost contributions to support the F2 and F3 teams”.
The significant increase in revenues is attributable to a near-doubling of what the company describes as “commercial rights exploitation”, from €17.1 million in 2022 to €33.5 million last year.
The company does not provide a detailed breakdown but indicates that “the increase was driven by new race promotion and sponsorship fees, with what are expected to be one-off revenues from car and part sales connected to the Apple F1 movie project”.
The film, starring Brad Pitt and co-produced by Lewis Hamilton’s Dawn Apollo Films production company, has been filming racing sequences at various circuits during Formula 1 race weekends using three modified Dallara F2 cars.
The caption also includes fees from licensing rights to television stations or to games developers, as well as race promotion fees.
With neither F2 nor F3 introducing a new car in 2023, the series promoter did not benefit from the revenues generated by selling new chassis to the competing teams. As a result, the revenue earned from the sale of cars, engines, tyres and spare parts for the two championships is unchanged from 2022, after increasing by 35% from 2021.
Both maintenance revenues and engine rebuild costs were lower, particularly for F2 “in the last year of the series’ vehicle cycle”.
The costs incurred in staging events remained flat as the cancellation of F2 and F3’s Imola round due to local flooding resulted in a “reduction in support race fees, parts and tyre sales”.
These savings were offset by the costs related to supplying the cars for the Apple film, the development of the new car, brought into use in 2024, and “inflation in FIA fees”.
All three of the company’s directors are employed by Formula One Management and the costs recharged to Formula Motorsport Limited. While two have wider responsibilities within the Formula One Group, the third, championship CEO Bruno Michel, “provided services exclusively to the company”.