(Motorsport-Total.com) – The look at the Formula 1 balance sheet in the second quarter of 2026 is initially startling: As the F1 parent company Liberty Media announced, revenue fell from 1.22 billion US dollars in the previous year to now 764 million US dollars between April and June – a decrease of around 38 percent.
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The operating result was even more drastic, sinking by 61 percent from 293 to 73 million US dollars. The adjusted OIBDA – that is, the operating result before depreciation – shrank by a similar amount from 361 to 139 million US dollars.
But the financial low has solid organizational reasons: In the three affected months, only five Grands Prix were held, while in the comparison period of 2025 there were still nine races.
In addition to schedule shifts – the Japanese Grand Prix moved to the first quarter and Imola was removed from the calendar – the cancellations in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia weighed heavily, which had to be canceled due to political tensions in the Middle East.
In total, only eight instead of eleven races are recorded in the first half of 2026 (a decrease of 27 percent). The fact that the total revenue of the racing series only fell by 15 percent in the first half of the year underlines that the business model is fundamentally intact.
Catch-up in the second half of the year
A significant recovery of finances is emerging for the second half of the year. An important component is the resumption of the Bahrain race, which will be made up in October as a replacement in Malaysia’s Sepang.
In addition, the calendar is tightly packed in the fall: Seven Grands Prix are planned in the third quarter, including the debut in Madrid, and even eight races are scheduled in the fourth quarter.
The Formula 1 calendar 2026 to click through
If the uncertainties in the Middle East also endanger the season finals in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali has already prepared: In this scenario, the championship would end in Europe, with Imola considered the hottest candidate for an alternative final in December.
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In the end, the premier class aims for 22 to 23 season races, which largely offsets the revenue losses.
Less prize money for the teams – and the focus on the sprints
The lower number of races is also temporarily reflected in the payouts to the eleven racing teams. In the second quarter, only 316 million US dollars flowed to the field (previous year: 513 million), with the half-year value at 500 million US dollars (2025: 627 million).
Since the calendar is stretched to up to 24 venues until at least 2028, the leadership is looking for other ways to increase revenue. The lever is to be applied in the future at the sprint weekends. Because these noticeably boost audience interest already on Friday and Saturday, organizers are willing to pay higher entry fees.
Domenicali said during an investor conference last Thursday: “We will have more sprint races next year, and we will inform at the announcement of the [2027] calendar how many there will be.”
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“The principle is simple. This is an opportunity to increase the revenue stream that we can really leverage commercially,” said the Italian.
An approximate doubling of the sprint events to twelve races is expected, but Domenicali ruled out that sprints will be held at every Grand Prix, as an element of “scarcity” must be maintained: “If we went everywhere commercially, that would no longer be a value that we can really generate from a commercial perspective.”
“But as far as the number is concerned, we will definitely continue to increase in the future. That will definitely happen next year.”
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