Formula 1 stakeholders embark on crucial Concorde Agreement discussions for 2026-2030 period
The key players in the Formula 1 world have commenced negotiations for the next Concorde Agreement, a vital document that governs the sport and will cover the period from 2026 to 2030. Historically, these discussions have been fraught with tension, as Formula 1 teams vie for greater commercial rights income and jockey for position over their competitors.
In the past, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was known to employ divide-and-conquer tactics, pitting teams against each other to gain an upper hand in negotiations. This approach led to the downfall of the Formula One Teams’ Association over a decade ago. However, Greg Maffei, CEO of Liberty Media, the company that owns Formula 1, has pledged that such strategies will not be used in the current negotiations.
Maffei anticipates contentious aspects in the new agreement
Maffei anticipates that some aspects of the next Concorde Agreement will be contentious, citing the example of Ferrari’s historic bonus, which will be capped in the new agreement. Despite this, the Italian team is reportedly less than thrilled with the development.
“The prior regime really did put a lot of time into having the teams compete against each other,” he said. “In many cases, they enjoyed just getting an edge on each other, rather than thinking about how to grow the sport.”
Collaborative approach inspired by the NFL
In contrast, Maffei aims to adopt a more collaborative approach, inspired by the NFL in the United States. “We’ve tried to take a page out of, I’d say in some ways, the NFL: compete hard on Sunday, but on Monday, league first. We really want to grow the sport together.”
Maffei highlighted the significant growth in Formula 1’s revenue and the value of teams since Liberty Media’s involvement in 2016. “When we got involved in late 2016, and we made our first investment close in January 2017, the bottom teams were literally worthless,” he explained. “Manor had been sold for one pound the prior summer. And now there isn’t a team that’s worth less than a billion dollars, maybe more, and they raise money at those numbers.”
Optimism for the negotiations
Despite the challenges that lie ahead, Maffei remains optimistic about the negotiations, acknowledging that teams will naturally want to increase their revenue. “There are surely issues we’re going to fight over. [And] what a surprise: they would like to make more money. I don’t begrudge them that. I suspect some of that, they wish, might come out of our pocket. But in general, they appreciate we’ve tried to take the long view, and we try to take the view that we should all profit together.”
As the Formula 1 community embarks on this critical phase of negotiations, one thing is clear: the next Concorde Agreement will have a profound impact on the sport’s future. With all stakeholders focused on growing the sport together, the possibilities for Formula 1’s continued success are endless.
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