Special investigation: The cost of being an F1 fan

Virtually 10 years in the past, Autosport requested: “Is Method 1 a rip off?” We crunched the numbers on ticket costs, subscriptions within the early days of the pay TV takeover, workforce merchandise, journey and extra – all the pieces we thought you wanted to be an F1 fan in 2015.

These had been the times earlier than Liberty Media took over because the championship’s industrial rights holder. Because it did so, the corporate has massively modified the way in which F1 is promoted and consumed.

Right here we current a contemporary evaluation for 2024.

Given Autosport’s typical viewers, now we have stored issues UK-focused for simplicity (with a couple of exceptions) and dropped a lot of the earlier give attention to journey. In any case, some are prepared to pay far more than others to attend races – within the UK or all over the world – whereas even attending to occasions has modified, with an elevated give attention to park-and-ride schemes alongside present public transport infrastructures. Metropolis-based races are massively up, too.

We’ve stored loads the identical, nevertheless, together with assessing the price of and methods to observe F1 on TV, in addition to how a lot you’ll pay for workforce equipment lately. There’s additionally a brand new evaluation of which races provide finest bang to your buck from a sporting perspective, plus a glance into the brand new offers Liberty has made to advertise F1 since 2017. Right here’s what we found.

Following F1 at residence

F1 has an enormous and rising international viewers based mostly on TV viewing figures – but it surely all comes at a price

Picture by: Mark Sutton

Exterior the USA and Italy, F1 followers have only one likelihood to observe the motion stay of their residence nations yearly. This, and motorsport’s quick and complicated nature, means it stays among the many most TV-focused sports activities.

In knowledge supplied to Autosport by FOM (Method One Administration), it’s claimed that F1’s international TV viewers common for every race is now 58.9million folks. That’s up from a 48.2million common in 2018, when FOM totally began to trace its viewers knowledge underneath Liberty possession.

Within the UK since 2012, Sky Sports activities has held the rights to indicate each F1 race stay. Since our final take a look at such issues, Channel 4 now exhibits only one race stay on terrestrial TV annually, in comparison with the BBC displaying 10 in 2015.

Due to Sky’s exclusivity association, this in itself considerably sells UK TV viewers brief on what F1 presents to viewers in different territories

In comparison with 2015, the price of the packages required to observe F1 on Sky has elevated by £72 per 12 months to £636 – though that is underneath the speed of inflation. To observe the Channel 4 providing, viewers might want to purchase a BBC TV licence – at £169.50. An alternate, and cheaper, technique to observe all 24 races is to purchase a Sky Sports activities day go from Now TV at £14.99 a pop.

Taking the Now TV strategy would imply lacking out on the complete driver onboards choice Sky presents its F1 channel clients through its Sky Sports activities app, Q and Glass programs. However due to Sky’s exclusivity association, this in itself considerably sells UK TV viewers brief on what F1 presents to viewers in different territories. This comes through the F1TV OTT (over-the-top) platform launched by FOM in 2018.

F1TV’s ‘Professional’ prime providing gives two commentary groups of the stay motion for English language viewers (one is FOM’s in-house manufacturing, the opposite is Sky’s), plus all of the onboard feeds from each automotive. And, critically, to viewers in choose territories exterior the UK, the place the ‘Professional’ stage isn’t accessible because of the Sky deal, these stay accessible at any time afterwards.

In case you can multi-task nicely sufficient to observe multi-feeds through the Sky Sports activities App, together with its TV protection, that’s advantageous. However anybody desirous to see extra motion at their leisure can’t.

It’s dearer to observe F1 protection on Sky than in 2015, however enhance is underneath the speed of inflation

Picture by: Mark Sutton

UK F1TV subscribers can solely get its ‘Entry’ stage at a price of £19.99. This does include entry to stay timing, driver tracker and restricted telemetry knowledge, which Sky additionally gives.

When it comes to non-live TV content material, Netflix’s Drive to Survive is credited with massively boosting F1’s recognition globally, and plenty of different sports activities have tried to launch their very own variations, with various levels of success. It was removed from the primary such behind-the-scenes sport documentary, however its heavy narrative focus and launch timing forward of the COVID-19 pandemic – the place viewers had far more time to eat the present’s first three collection by the second 12 months of lockdowns within the west – proved very profitable.

Within the UK, a typical Netflix subscription prices £10.99. In addition to DTS, a brand new collection specializing in the all-female F1 Academy championship is presently in manufacturing. Netflix can be bringing out a drama collection based mostly on the lifetime of Ayrton Senna subsequent month.

Since 2022, F1 has doubled its official gaming releases, with F1 Supervisor offered alongside the annual season-specific racing title launched by Digital Arts because it purchased long-time F1 recreation producer Codemasters in 2021. The PlayStation 5 variations of those video games value £39.99 and £69.99 respectively.

F1’s different main ‘at residence’ mission is the upcoming Apple-produced, Joseph Kosinski-directed and Brad Pitt-starring F1 movie. That is primarily a big-budget advertising follow-up to DTS, as F1 attempts to replicate Mattel’s success with Barbie in showcasing its mental property to a wider viewers. The typical UK grownup cinema ticket is £7.92.

Exterior UK houses are the ‘F1 Arcade’ bars full of recreation simulators in London and Birmingham. One 30-minute race session prices £17.95 per individual, alongside the same old city-centre costs for foods and drinks. F1 opened its first worldwide Arcades in Boston and Washington DC, with an extra bar deliberate to open in Las Vegas.

Currently running at London’s ExCeL is the F1 Exhibition that first opened in Madrid final 12 months. Tickets for the show, which exhibits objects from F1’s historical past and appears to its future, value £33 at peak instances.

F1 media prices

Following F1 at stay areas

There’s nothing like being at an occasion in individual to absorb the ambiance – we have labored out what it prices to attend the races

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos

Though F1 is finest adopted on display in terms of understanding the 600 particular person races (together with sprints) accomplished by each driver throughout the present 24-event calendar, there’s nonetheless nothing like being at a circuit and seeing the vehicles stay. The scent of the burning tyres, the wheel squeals from driver errors, the roar of the gang – they’re cliches for a purpose.

Under is the breakdown for attending every race on the 2024 calendar. As with our 2015 calculation, we’ve caught with assessing the most affordable single-day (Sunday) ticket for every race (the place accessible) to offer a comparability in that interval.

Many costs have risen above the speed of inflation – however with a number of notable exceptions. Singapore, for instance, has barely modified by way of its providing at this value level

This additionally implies that F1 occasions may be in comparison with different types of motorsport, completely different sports activities and stay occasions typically in 2024 – examples of which we’ve additionally supplied right here. Sometimes, these single-day tickets present Normal Admission entry solely and so don’t include reserved seats.

From the comparability of F1 single-raceday tickets, we are able to see that many costs have risen above the speed of inflation – however with a number of notable exceptions. Singapore, for instance, has barely modified by way of its providing at this value level, whereas there are fascinating direct comparability alterations within the related value ranges for Silverstone and Monza.

Ticket costs have remained regular in Singapore

Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photos

After all, there’s a lot debate in regards to the acceptable stage of ticket costs in 2024 – one thing that’s not restricted to sporting occasions. Rising costs had been occurring even earlier than the present value of residing disaster turbocharged the give attention to larger funds, in addition to hidden charges and extra costs on ticketing web sites.

The British GP has courted a lot controversy for its costs lately, significantly after its dynamic pricing debacle when tickets for its 2023 occasion went on sale in September 2022. We additionally recognise that many followers really feel steep prices of foods and drinks at races, in addition to parking and tenting prices being considered, typically go away them annoyed.

There will also be varied presents round particular ticket sorts from completely different races. For instance, the Las Vegas occasion (the place FOM is successfully the race promoter, one other huge change from its earlier period) made headlines for its very excessive ticket costs throughout the board when it joined the calendar in 2023. However it’s now providing a three-day basic admission ticket at $462, however with foods and drinks for all days included.

Many F1 followers can even wish to attend a complete race weekend and take within the observe, qualifying and help collection showings too. As our 2015-24 comparability desk exhibits, there was a notable elevated prevalence of races promoting multi-day tickets now as customary.

That is as much as particular person promoters and their enterprise fashions, however in lots of instances – and with costs rising sharply for grandstand or hospitality tickets – this implies costs for teams or households can shortly attain many a whole bunch of kilos.

A key distinction right here from 2015 is how FOM now requires promoters to offer extra worth – sometimes within the type of live shows and exhibits, however it might probably additionally imply higher funding in amenities and transport entry – of their ticket costs. This has led to many F1 occasions being promoted extra alongside the strains of music and different pageant sorts. Within the knowledge given to Autosport by FOM, it’s claimed that the general annual race attendance determine is now 6million. F1 additionally claims that 40% of individuals attending a race in 2023 did so for the primary time.

Whereas the numbers should communicate for themselves right here, and annoyingly premium costs for concessions at stay occasions is a long-standing problem, we determined to have a look at statistics that matter to many followers – maybe together with those that really feel alienated by the championship’s current push for races to carry non-sporting productions and have altered sporting codecs.

There are many alternatives for spectators to see the vehicles at Monaco

Picture by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Photos

We now have due to this fact gone via each race on the present calendar (not together with sprints) and labored out which races are finest for seeing the vehicles most in racing eventualities. Merely put, what number of instances and for the way lengthy will you see the racing machines in motion, having laid down your hard-earned money for the privilege.

It is a subjective train – it could be that visiting the hallowed floor at sure tracks (assuming you’ll be able to abdomen the visitors hassle frequent at most of the purpose-built amenities) is value it although their rating on evaluation is low.

Monaco tops the checklist – which isn’t sensible for watching F1 on a finances given its tax-haven standing – and this comes all the way down to its tight confines and concise lap distance

To calculate this, we ranked the races so as of every one’s most up-to-date dry race length, then redid the order based mostly on their race lap totals annually. Unsurprisingly, shorter, slower layouts come out larger – however if you wish to wander round a circuit to see F1 vehicles in motion at completely different nook sorts, this can be an essential consideration.

Monaco tops the checklist – which isn’t sensible for watching F1 on a finances given its tax-haven standing – and this comes all the way down to its tight confines and concise lap distance. You additionally gained’t ever see the present ground-effect machines within the nook sorts the place they’re designed to work finest. Handily, the subsequent six races are in areas the place the observe is both in or near a significant metropolis.

Greatest F1 observe for spectator motion worth for cash

Displaying that you just observe F1

Official merchandise isn’t low cost to return by

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos

F1 merchandise stays a significant a part of the fan expertise. FOM outsources its on-line merchandise providing through the Fanatics platform that sells official merchandise from all of the US sports activities leagues. It means you should buy comparative merch from all of the groups – though they don’t all promote the identical stuff – from the identical place. However we discovered that costs differ (normally barely decrease, in our analysis) for those who purchase from workforce web sites immediately, in order ever it pays to buy round.

However given the compact and official Fanatics platform, we’ve used this to match costs for varied objects to indicate your help in related methods for various groups. We’re specializing in the F1 squads and their generic team-branded clothes and equipment however, for those who wished a T-shirt or cap with the quantity and title of your favorite driver, plainly you’ll have to pay barely extra.

The desk above exhibits how costs stack up for the groups in typical merchandise purchases. By the use of comparability from our 2015 investigation, taking the costliest cap then (Ferrari’s, at £32) and contrasting with Sauber being prime right now, we are able to see that prices on this stuff particularly are available in roughly according to inflation (£42.96).

In some particular examples – Crimson Bull’s workforce cap, which was £25 in 2015 and is now £28 – the costs haven’t gone up that a lot in any respect. We additionally notice how Aston Martin’s workforce merch is commonly in direction of the highest of the comparisons under, which displays its mum or dad firm’s positioning as a luxurious model (even amongst F1 rivals which can be doing precisely the identical).

F1 workforce merchandise in contrast

When it comes to shopping for F1 workforce merchandise at stay races, we went to the official shops on the British and Hungarian races over the summer time to match costs.

We found, quite inevitably, that purchasing the identical merchandise at a grand prix prices greater than on-line. The equal Mercedes workforce cap is £38 on-line however being offered for £60 at Silverstone. Curiously, convert Hungarian forints to kilos and the value for a similar product on the Hungaroring was solely £4.30 cheaper. That is inside the context of the Budapest race’s recognition inside value consideration for a lot of British followers annually – because the ticket value desk exhibits, a GP ticket can are available in at almost half the value.

Shopping for merchandise on the observe will set you again greater than on-line, though Silverstone was solely marginally dearer than the Hungaroring

Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photos

Observe merchandise is offered by Puma-owned Stichd (the corporate additionally makes attire for Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston and Williams) – with costs set from particular market analysis for every location. Merchandise provided on the circuits is purchased by Stichd after which offered on to followers.

Now that Ferrari is promoting a Scuderia soccer shirt, we in contrast the value with the brand new residence shirt of reigning Premier League champions Manchester Metropolis. This got here out at an £80 high-scoring draw. UK followers wanting to purchase the brand new residence strip of 2023-24 Serie A champion Internazionale must fork out £150. Manchester Metropolis workforce caps are available in at £18 from the workforce’s web site.

Different sports activities merchandise

Those that can afford it – and these costs are merely staggering – is likely to be involved in a brand new F1 workforce upcycling initiative from Mercedes and its workforce put on associate Puma. Made together with designers from Raeburn, the workforce has made jackets, baggage, hoodies, T-shirts and hats utilizing panels from the Nomex hearth fits used within the 2022 season.

Diecast mannequin vehicles have risen on common by barely above the speed of inflation

A press launch saying the mission claimed “the gathering blends motorsport engineering with cutting-edge trend design returned to followers, that includes items crafted from the race-worn fits of Mercedes F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, in addition to the workforce’s mechanics”.

It’s unclear what number of objects within the assortment had been produced, however on the time of writing they’re all offered out at Mercedes’ workforce web site. The ‘Masterpiece Anorak’ retails at £1275, trousers £675 and T-shirt £350.

In a single closing space of F1 fan merchandise so that you can contemplate, prices have, nevertheless, modified extra notably in comparison with clothes lined above. Diecast mannequin vehicles, for instance, have risen on common by barely above the speed of inflation. However that is actually simply in relation to 2015 – as a result of as we famous on the time, a £40 1:18 mannequin purchased in 1996 would value £59.08 9 years in the past and £77.93 now. This exhibits costs have risen much less steeply of late.

On this space, albeit with much less detailed fashions, F1 has additionally made current strikes to offer official choices with Lego and Mattel’s Hot Wheels toy car brand.

How following F1 has modified

The explosion of social media – and F1’s rising embrace of it – means there are numerous extra methods of accessing motorsport’s pinnacle than a decade in the past

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos

From right here, we go away the chilly realm of statistics and mirror on one thing quite much less tangible, however in the end nonetheless crucial given the emotive energy of sport and its cash-guzzling extras. That is how the expertise of being a fan has modified prior to now decade and with the Liberty takeover once more in thoughts.

Famously, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone felt social media was a “nonsense” that he “couldn’t see any worth in”. And one of many first issues the brand new FOM regime did was unlock the restrictions round groups, drivers and the championship itself posting into the web’s ether.

That gained’t be new in 2024, but it surely does characterize a giant distinction to our final evaluation of how a lot it prices to be an F1 fan. In any case, social media accounts are free (by way of the most important platforms and their primary choices) and that enables for followers to work together with the championship in numerous methods in comparison with earlier generations.

Clips of F1 observe motion and behind-the-scenes pictures from the paddock are widespread now when earlier than there was a strict clampdown. F1’s knowledge claims that the championship now will get a mean of 10.9million folks watching qualifying and race highlights on YouTube – versus 2.5million in 2018.

It’s typically claimed that the prevalence of social media F1 entry means a direct hyperlink to the protagonists, however loads of drivers have lengthy left dealing with their social channels to skilled admins. Russell, for instance, just lately defined that he solely indicators off “on all of the captions and the pictures – I at all times ship via my content material” to a selected workforce.

“It’s a double-edged sword, to be trustworthy,” he added. “As a result of I actually take pleasure in seeing the memes and the banter that goes round. And that stuff is constructive – you’re spinning off the funniness and sure feedback and no matter. However then on the flipside, there’s a whole lot of hate and negativity. And it’s virtually unimaginable to keep away from.”

In keeping with F1’s personal calculations, its complete follower depend on its official social media platforms is available in at 90million and up from 12.1million – a claimed 744% rise from 2018 when it totally began capturing knowledge. Including up the championship’s official English language account followers from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Fb, LinkedIn and Threads is available in at 80.1million.

Russell reckons the rising significance of social media in F1 is a double-edged sword

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos

The championship additionally claims, with out offering a headline determine, that one in three of its complete fanbase began following F1 prior to now 4 years and that one in three TV viewers are underneath 35 years previous, with a 2% enhance in followers underneath 35 general in comparison with 2018. F1 says it has registered a 5% rise by way of its feminine viewers – from 37% of its general calculations in 2018 to 42% right now.

FOM additionally says its official web site and app received 104million distinctive guests in 2023 versus 47million in 2018. Right here, it’s essential to notice how far more of a writer F1 has grow to be underneath Liberty. Not like the Bernie days, the place promoting TV contracts and unique promoting spots was the king strategy, now F1 gives content material choices that put it in some competitors with broadcasters and unbiased publications reminiscent of Autosport.

Right here we are able to mirror how the F1 media panorama general has modified significantly lately, too – significantly the proliferation of ‘clickbait’ web sites that spin up tales written by respected publications and promote the identical info in a intentionally sensationalist means.

F1 has official agreements with UK high-street model H&M to promote garments that includes F1 IP, whereas within the US there’s a related cope with PacSun

However it’s not simply media the place FOM now takes a distinct strategy – a secondary component to think about additionally chimes with a lot of the knowledge we’ve lined on merchandise and fan prices. That is how, since 2015, F1 has struck offers with high-street attire manufacturers, whereas additionally promoting its personal branded merchandise at race occasions and on-line. Autosport understands that is promoting in rising numbers, which suggests followers will not be simply eager to focus on their affiliation to groups and drivers.

F1 has official agreements with UK high-street model H&M to promote garments that includes F1 IP, whereas within the US there’s a related cope with PacSun that’s aimed particularly at promoting garments to Gen Z clients.

Conclusions

F1 followers are a loyal and devoted breed, and have caught by the world championship regardless of value rises

Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photos

Change is mostly fixed and F1, with its common rule alterations and design refreshments, embodies this very nicely. It’s as much as the person to resolve whether or not the knowledge now we have offered is sweet, dangerous or the identical because it was almost a decade on from 2015.

Given the present value of residing disaster and recent controversies about dynamic pricing – infamously within the UK involving the band Oasis, plus these recollections of Silverstone’s 2022-23 saga – the related value rises we’ve famous will stand out. That is particularly essential for anybody contemplating shopping for a number of tickets or items of merchandise to fulfil a household pastime.

Motorsport has at all times been an costly pursuit for its protagonists. However, whereas we should recognise how particular modifications to issues we eat are mirrored from traits in wider society, F1, as the highest class, has to take care to keep away from upsetting its long-standing followers in terms of value. Though lately it gives a a lot elevated providing for consuming its motion and tales, it might probably’t threat dropping the emotional touches that actually imply a lot to its followers, and ever-rising costs would absolutely do exactly this.

And if the most important change we’ve highlighted exhibits what number of methods it’s now attainable to be an F1 fan, these supporters even have way more methods than merely voting with their ft and never attending particular races. The impression of many wider modifications now in the end comes with a backside line for the championship. By all that, it ought to by no means lose the crucial, historic connections that received it thus far within the first place.

It’s essential that F1 doesn’t lose sight of the followers as its ceaseless growth continues

Picture by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Photos