Show me the money!! A phrase that entered into the world’s lexicon thanks to a movie called Jerry McGuire, released in 1996 starring Tom Cruise as a recently fired sports agent trying to rebuild his career, his only client a disgruntled NFL star played by Cuba Gooding JR who wants his payday. The aforementioned scene, where both leads are screaming the line SHOW ME THE MONEY down the phone is arguably one of the most iconic moments in movie history. Which could be used as a metaphor for where Formula 1 is at with promoters of tracks and the unenviable task of balancing the books.
MONEY MAKES THE CARS GO ROUND
As with everything in life, Formula 1 costs money, a lot of money. Income is required to keep the sport on the track. Formula 1 is a complex and massive undertaking, with so many different income streams including advertising, corporate sponsorships and video game tie-ins helping to keep Formula 1 moving. The tracks that Formula 1 race on are one of the biggest contributers to Formula 1’s revenue.
The Saudi Arabian GP pays somewhere in the region of £42.7million ($55million) per year. With a promoter willing to pay that amount of money, it’s no wonder that Formula 1 head to these countries.
Other countries will pay a fee. The British GP at Silverstone paying £19.4million ($25million). All in all Formula 1 nets around £544million ($700million).
Formula 1 has to look at different ways to bring tracks to the calender. The recently announced Las Vegas GP; that is due to debut in 2023 does not have a Promoter. The event will be run solely by FOM. The decision to go “promoter-less” for such a big event is due to how important Formula 1 sees the United States market.
DOES HERITAGE PAY THE BILLS?
Recently Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali has been forced to defend the organisations decisions around where Formula 1 has decided to take the sport.
“Money is important everywhere, for us too. But we don’t just look at that, the whole package has to be right. If we only looked at the bank account, the racing calendar would definitely look different.”
Stefano Domenicali , CEO Formula 1
With 20 races already contracted to Formula 1 for 2023 with Las Vegas GP confirmed and a potential return to South Africa on the cards. Formula 1 does not have enough slots free to hit the magic 24 races. Austria, Monaco, Belgium and France are all on the bubble for the 2023. The lack of a German GP has already been a topic of discussion within the paddock. Add in the prospect of losing a further two “historical races” in the mix could lead to some awkward conversations with the powers that be within F1.
Unfortunately, heritage won’t pay the bills, but Formula 1 needs to find a way to strike a balance between the tracks in the history of the sport and newer tracks and destinations that want to host Formula 1.