Looking only at the bulletin board, 2025 is easy to file away: Norris world champion in F1, Márquez king again in MotoGP. End of story.

Only, for those who put the budget on the table and then have to defend it in front of a board with specific questions (“what do we really buy?”, “how long does it last?”, “what risk do we bring in?”), 2025 told a different story.

He told that motorsport-the Tier 1 kind-is behaving more and more like an investment platform: plannable, measurable, and above all, defensible. “Defensible” here is not a slogan: it’s the difference between a sponsorship that lives on photos and one that holds a call with the finance and legal departments. It means not only how many times a logo appears, but how many times a piece of content is seen, cut, bounced, saved; how many people enter a path; how many B2B meetings are ignited; how many business opportunities are influenced. And, conversely, how much reputational granola is avoided through a “brand safe” facility designed well for different markets.

It is not poetry. It is marketing 2026: sponsorship no longer lives by “presence,” it lives by distribution and content. And 2025 was a year of consolidation, of structural signals.

Five facts about 2025 that really matter for investors

Formula 1: Norris champion, McLaren on top. But the real point is America becoming structure

Norris won without “crushing” everyone for months: he won by keeping the pressure on. And that kind of finish – drawn out, experienced, questionable enough – is oxygen for buyers. A balanced World Cup means longer attention spans, more distributed conversations, more useful windows to activate.

The news that really clicks in a meeting with the CFO is something else: the final okay for Cadillac to enter from 2026. Translation: the U.S. is no longer a market to “go get something.” They are part of F1’s strategic structure. And when a property goes from opportunity to structure, it tends to become more stable, more predictable, easier to plan three years out.

If a global flag is to be put up, F1 remains the benchmark today: international coverage, premium positioning, B2B, hospitality, and an average machine that–for continuity–is still a step above all.

Field note: on a board you don’t ask “how many pictures we took.” It asks “what do we have left in six to 12 months.” F1 allows you to answer with a credible plan, as long as the measurement is set from the beginning.

MotoGP: Márquez returns champion… but the real title is the control room

Sportingly, champion Márquez is a “good” earthquake. Because it shows that the product still has pure star power: the kind that moves audiences and conversations, even outside the fan bubble. It is news that brings attention and “storytelling” back to the center, and when the narrative goes up, the content inventory becomes more valuable.

Commercially, the heaviest impact is institutional: European green light for Liberty’s entry into Dorna’s governance. Here it is not so much the acronym that matters as the direction: more orderly packages, more aggressive distribution, more disciplined monetization. In short: a product that tends to become easier to operate in multiple markets.

The bottom line is simple: MotoGP today is already a very good investment, but with Liberty it can become a more defensible investment. If I had my own budget, a share of growth in the next 3-5 years I would put it here. Not because “the word is out,” but because the signs are all pointing in the same direction.

WEC/Le Mans: Ferrari wins again, but the real currency is technical credibility

Le Mans 2025: Ferrari wins again, and it does so with a narrative that needs no special effects to stand up. The currency here is not just reach: it is credibility. It’s the kind of language that works with industrial, tech, premium, and those who want reputation over noise.

Endurance has a rare virtue: it allows us to talk about performance, reliability, engineering, “craft.” And it does so without having to force the issue.
The limitation is known: shorter calendar, less “always on.” But for that very reason, if you use it well, it becomes a smart second leg: less volume, more reputation.

And here you can quickly see who has a plan and who does not: for those who come to Le Mans with a clear idea of technical storytelling and B2B relationships, the payoff does not come on its own. It comes if you go in with defined roles and an already written calendar of content and meetings.

WRC: Ogier at nine. Huge story, most selective platform

Rally in 2025 delivers an encyclopedia row: Ogier champion for the ninth time. Sportingly, it’s gigantic. But the investment committee question is always the same: How scalable is it?

The WRC is most powerful for authenticity and territory, but global activation requires more work. There is a need to create a consistent thread across markets, formats and platforms. It is perfect when there are specific goals (territories, communities, values), less immediate when looking for a “one size fits all” platform.

And mind you: this is not a flaw. It is a feature. It simply has to be bought knowing what you are buying.

Formula E: Rowland champion. Solid product, but has yet to become inevitable

Rowland champion, technically credible category, urban positioning that no other series really holds. Here, more than sporting achievement, identity matters: city, community, proximity.

The theme is language: Formula E yields so much when it is treated as an urban platform-community, retail, events, CRM, local alliances-and yields less when you try to make it sound like F1 “in a small way.”

Good tactical investment, but on one condition: you need to buy it with activation already written. For example: tracked invitations for hospitality, dedicated landing pages by city, and an easy way to attribute generated contacts (even if only by distinguishing “from event” vs. “from content” vs. “from local partnership”). Otherwise you risk having a nice badge and little result.

Where to really invest if ambitions are global

If a rule of thumb is needed, it is this: F1 for scale and stability, MotoGP for growth, WEC for credibility, Formula E for cities. But it pays to say it with two more lines, because this is where misunderstandings are avoided.

• Formula 1 is the mainstay when you need a platform that “holds” across multiple markets and multi-year horizons. It is also the one that gives you the most B2B levers (hospitality, relationships, content for target accounts), as long as you don’t treat it as just a logo. It costs a lot, but it pays off just as much.
• MotoGP is the growth leg: very high passion, hot markets, and-with Liberty-the prospect of a tidier product that is easier to activate in a replicable way. Economically, probably the most effective in terms of expense and return.
• WEC/Le Mans is credibility: perfect when you want to talk about technology, reliability, performance and industry partnerships without having to shout.
• Formula E is the urban tactic-it works when you think of it as a city platform, with clear local goals (community, retail, CRM) and an operational plan that leaves nothing to chance.

In summary: F1 to dominate, MotoGP to grow, WEC for credibility, FE for urban activations. It is a useful summary, but the real difference is always the “how,” not the “what.”

Today vs 2000: why this comparison makes it easier to say “yes”

In 2000, motorsport was more linear: fewer channels, less internal competition between categories, and one dominant metric-“classic” visibility. In 2025, the value is not just where the logo appears, but how that content travels: how long it lasts, how it is cut, re-shared, re-interpreted, and most importantly, how it fuels relationships and reputation.

And therein lies the point that convinces a CFO: Today, a Tier 1 motorsport sponsorship done right looks more like a manageable investment than an image expense. You can define a perimeter, realistic goals, a defensible attribution model, and-most crucially-a risk plan for markets and regulations.

2025, with Norris closing in on a photo finish and MotoGP shifting gears off the track as well, suggests this: it ultimately rewards those who build a platform that stands year-round. Reusable content, replicable activations by market, and a metric that holds up even when things don’t go smoothly.