How much does it cost to host F1?

• Circuits who desire to have the privilege of hosting a Grand Prix make a sizeable contribution
• For instance, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix costs $55 million
• Different countries pay a different hosting fee

Watching Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, among others, battle it out for the championship comes with a lot of pomp and colour. However, do you ever ask yourself how much does it cost to host F1?

It takes a lot, just to be precise. First, here is a little history. The European Championship of Grand Prix motor racing in the 1920s and 1930s inspired the creation of the Formula One racing series.

The Grand Prix of Turin in 1946 was the inaugural event for Formula One racing. Before World War II, several Grand Prix racing organizations devised the guidelines for a world championship.

However, racing stopped during Wold War II pushing the first World Drivers’ Championship to 1947. In 1950, the inaugural race for the Formula One World Championship happened at Silverstone, in the United Kingdom. Farina drove an Alfa Romeo to victory, and he remains in the echelons of history as the first F1 to ever win.

More than 70 years later, the circuits continue with high-powered competitors.

Lewis Hamilton Mexico Grand Prix. Photo/ Planet F1

DO COUNTRIES PAY TO HOST F1?

Just how much does it cost to host F1? Circuits who desire the privilege of hosting a Grand Prix make a sizeable contribution to the Formula One championship’s coffers.

At the end of the season, the prize money for the teams is ultimately determined by combining this money with the revenue earned from the sponsors.

For instance, the race promoter forked a hefty $55 million to Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.  Other countries’ fees for hosting the race can range from $50 million to $100 million USD. When everything totals together, the total cost of holding Formula One races is roughly in the neighbourhood of 700 million US dollars.

HOW MUCH DOES MONACO PAY F1 HOSTS?

Monaco Grand Prix is one of the most famous races in F1 history. It costs $15 million to host Grand Prix Monaco. Monaco is the most famous track in all of Formula One. It was included on the schedule for the inaugural year of the new Formula One World Championship in 1950.

Ever since 1955, except for one year, Monaco hosted all the races. Because of the widespread coronavirus epidemic, the 2020 Monaco Grand Prix was called off for the first time since 1954.

The competition was added back to the schedule in 2021; this time, the grandstands could hold up to 40 per cent of their typical capacity. Its popularity is one of the reasons why many wonder how much does it cost to host F1.

Although the track’s layout has undergone numerous iterations of improvement since 1929, it still utilizes the same fundamental configuration.

Monaco’s narrow and winding track layout gives Formula One drivers a one-of-a-kind challenge. A prominent driver named Nelson Piquet once said that driving in Monaco was like “cycling a bicycle around your living room.”

At Formula One’s shortest track, passing another car is nearly impossible. Due to the confines of the circuit being so close together, there is no tolerance for error, and there is very little downtime during each lap. Over the length of the 78 laps that make up the race, a driver will make over 5000 gear changes.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO SPONSOR AN F1 RACE?

A F1 track. Photo/F1

Besides asking how much does it cost to sponsor an F1 race, there is also the question of how much it costs to sponsor the same.

Different sponsors come with different packages. For instance, Redbull’s sponsorship is $500 million annually. Each team has a set of sponsors. Popular sponsors include Heineken, Aramco, and DHL, among others.

Trackside visibility, activation opportunities, and fan-zone presence benefit the sponsors. However, sponsoring the entire championship is different from sponsoring a team driver. The amounts involved are different, and so are the marketing rights.

Nevertheless, these entities are just a piece of the puzzle answering how much does it cost to host F1. Ultimately, the cost of a Formula One sponsorship ties to the marketing objectives and requirements of the sponsor.

Talking about rough estimates, sponsorship arrangements in Formula One begin at $500,000 per year. But, it doesn’t include any kind of exposure on the car or the drivers.

Branding on cars and other materials begins to show start at one million dollars, but once again, this is contingent on the team.