Domenicali eyes more Sprints as F1's second quarter revenue takes a hit.

While the first quarter saw revenue increase 53% from $403m (£295m) in 2025 to $617 (£452m), and operating income was $107m compared to a $28m deficit last year, the figures for the second quarter are comparatively bleak.

Revenue is down 38% to $764m (£568m), compared to $1.226bn (£912m) in the corresponding period last year, and operating income was down 75% to $73m (£54m), compared to 2025.

While much of this will be put down to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi events, there is also the fact that in the corresponding period last year there were 9 races, this year between April and June there were just 5, so even without the cancellations there were two less events.

Over the course of the first six months of the year, with three fewer races revenue decreased 15% to $1,381m, while operating income was $180m and adjusted OIBDA decreased 30% to $311m as compared to the same period in 2025.

Understandably, team payments were down 38%, from $274m (£203m) in 2025 to $220m (£163m), this coming on the back of the first quarter which saw payments up 61% from $114m (£83m) to $184m (£135m).

The decision to host the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia should help the balance sheet later in the year, but one can see why F1 is desperate to find a replacement should there be a need to cancel the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix.

However, looking further ahead, F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali is eyeing more Sprints next season, a move which, while popular with some fans and drivers, will be warmly accepted by race promoters who can better monetise those events which witness qualifying and race action on all three days.

In a call with investors, the Italian revealed his plan.

"We are going to have more sprint races next year, and we will inform when we announce the calendar how many," he said. "The principle is simple. This is an opportunity to increment the revenue stream that we can really leverage from a commercial point of view."

Asked if every race weekend might feature a Sprint, the F1 CEO, said this would not be a good move as he feels the Sprints should be seen as somewhat exclusive and not the norm.

"If commercially we would go everywhere, that's not any more a value that we can really produce from the commercial point of view," he said. "But definitely we're going to move further up in terms of what the number is in the future. That's 1,000 per cent what will happen already next year.

"This season has showcased the very best of our sport with competitive racing and fascinating storylines that are driving strong fan engagement with attendance, audiences and digital impressions all up season-to-date," he declared in the official corporate statement. "Our sport continues to demonstrate its adaptability and creativity, the Bahrain Grand Prix for 2026 will be hosted in Malaysia following the agreement announced last week.

"Our partnership with Apple continues yielding positive engagement, with viewership up year-over-year, season-to-date and total hours watched up 13%," he added, though, unlike ESPN, Apple has not made its figures public thus far.

"We continue to see momentum across our business, including signing a landmark 10-year extension in Las Vegas and working with well-respected partners such as ServusTV and Pirelli.

"We remain focused on strengthening the foundation of our sport together with the teams and the FIA to deliver the best possible experience for our fans around the world, both on and off track."

Despite the sport having been accused of seeking to monetise every aspect, even to the Outlap dining experience at the Belgian Grand Prix and which will be held at other events including Monza, the Italian admitted that this is just the beginning.

"Experiential opportunity is where we are focusing our future" he said, as the sport targets further "money cannot buy" events.