The people in charge of Grand Prix racing are starting to talk about the next Concorde Agreement. This is the document that sets out how Formula 1 works, and it will be in place from 2026 to 2030.
In the past, these discussions have been really tough. Teams want more money from the people who organize the races and from each other.
Before, when Bernie Ecclestone was in charge, he would make teams fight each other. He knew it was easier to negotiate with teams one by one instead of together as a group. Sometimes, he even offered secret bonuses to teams to get them to turn against each other. This helped break up the Formula One Teams’ Association over ten years ago.
Now, Greg Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, which owns Formula 1, says they won’t use these divide-and-conquer tactics. But he still expects negotiations to be tough.
One thing that’s already been decided is that Ferrari will keep getting a special bonus. But it will have a limit, which Ferrari might not be happy about.
Maffei talked about this at an event in Monaco. He said they want these discussions to be different from before.
Before, teams mostly cared about beating each other instead of growing the sport. Now, they want to work together to make Formula 1 better.
Maffei mentioned the NFL in the United States as an example. He said teams compete hard on game day, but they work together for the league’s benefit later.
He also mentioned how much Formula 1 has grown financially in recent years. The value of teams has gone up a lot, and now every team is worth at least a billion dollars. This is a big change from a few years ago when some teams were almost worthless.
But Maffei knows it won’t be easy. The Concorde Agreement is really important for teams to make money in the long term. He expects there will be disagreements, especially about money. But he thinks they can find solutions that benefit everyone in the end.
