F1 governing body returns to profit after five years of losses

Formula One’s governing body has returned to profitability after five years of losses, under the aegis of its controversial president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Ben Sulayem, who took the reins of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile in 2021, inherited about €20 million ($22.5 million) of debt that built up during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2024, the FIA had operating income of €4.7 million ($5.3 million), according to an FIA statement Tuesday, its strongest financial return in almost a decade. The organization has been steadily cutting personal costs while increasing registration, entry and regulatory fees. A number of senior staff also left the FIA last year.

The FIA said the profit will enable its efforts to boost grassroots participation in motorsport as well as allowing it to reinvest in the seven World Championships under its governance, the largest of which, F1, now has 750 million fans worldwide.

Ben Sulayem, a former rally driver, has courted some controversy during his first term, including clamping down on drivers wearing jewelry and threatening race bans for repeated swearing or criticism of the FIA.

At the end of the year, Ben Sulayem’s first term as FIA President will come to an end and he’s expected to seek reelection, where he is thus far uncontested.

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