Formula 1 CEO: Teams Refusing Offers Worth ‘Almost Billions’

Formula 1’s runaway success has reached the point where F1 officials say teams are literally turning away investment and buyout offers worth “almost billions.”

Speaking on the property’s “Beyond The Grid” podcast, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said the rapid transformation has been seen in a variety of lucrative incoming offers to buy into existing race teams.

“There were teams in the past that were sold for £1. Now the market is offering almost billions to teams, and they are refusing that,” Domenicali said. “That gives you the perspective of what we are building as an ecosystem. We are building important structures, important dynamics. The more everyone is growing, the stronger the business platform that we are all working in.”

Part of the robust investor interest stems from an enforced scarcity. Domenicali expressed support for maintaining F1’s current 10-team structure: “I think that 10 teams are more than enough to create the show and attention that we want to see on the track.”

F1’s ongoing business boom is evident everywhere, whether it’s surging fan interest for this fall’s debut of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, historic television ratings for the Miami and Monaco GPs, expanded media rights in the U.S., and the hit Netflix series “Drive to Survive.”

Regarding the Las Vegas event, Domenicali said, “We need to make sure that will be seen as, ‘Wow,’ the event of the year … it’s really an incredible challenge, but I’m sure there will be an incredible postcard that we’re going to share all around the world.”