Why sponsor motorsport, in short: because it combines a young global fan base, a growing sponsorship market and long-term partnerships. F1 has 827 million fans (+12% on 2024) and MotoGP 632 million (+12%); in 2025 sponsorship passed 20% of F1’s total revenue for the first time (21.7%) and the championship’s partners went from 12 to 27 since 2020. These are six reasons with verified data, each with its limit.

Updated in October 2026.

Sports sponsorship is full of numbers with no source: “international” studies, returns “of up to 300%”, percentages with no year. Here there are only figures published by the championships, by the companies that run them and by their accounts, with the source next to each one. Where a number is a fan’s self-assessment or a statement from an interested party, it says so.

The six reasons in short

• Global reach: 827 million fans in F1, 632 million in MotoGP.
• A young audience: in F1, 43% of fans are under 35; in MotoGP, more than half.
• A growing market: sponsorship is 21.7% of F1’s total revenue and partners went from 12 to 27 since 2020.
• Long-term partnerships: ten-year deals such as the one with LVMH and technical relationships such as Shell and Ferrari, declared since 1950.
• Technology to talk about: from 2026 F1 uses around 50% electrical power and sustainable fuels.
• A measurable return, if objectives are set first: an archive case with a ratio of 1 to 46.9 and one F1 fan in three saying they are more likely to buy from partners.

1. Global reach: hundreds of millions of fans

Formula 1 estimates a fan base of 827 million in 2025, 12% more than the year before and 63% more than in 2018 (Formula1.com). MotoGP reports 632 million fans, +12% on 2024, 3.6 million spectators at circuits (Liberty Media gives over 3.66 million, +21%) and a TV audience up 9% on average, with Sprint races at +26% (Motorsport.com, Liberty Media).

The limit: “fans” is an estimate of people who declare an interest in the championship, not the number of people a brand reaches. A single sponsor’s exposure depends on where the logo sits, for how many races and on which media.

2. A young and increasingly female audience

In F1, 42% of fans are women (it was 37% in 2018) and 43% are under 35, with 51 million more under-35 fans in a year (Formula1.com). In MotoGP more than half of fans are under 35 (Motorsport.com).

The 2025 global survey by Formula 1 and Motorsport Network, based on more than 100,000 responses from highly engaged fans in 186 countries, says that 76% believe sponsors enhance the F1 experience and that one in three is more likely to buy from F1 partners, a share that rises to 40% among Gen Z (Formula1.com). These are statements by highly engaged enthusiasts, not measured sales: they help understand attitudes towards sponsors, not estimate a return.

3. A growing sponsorship market

In 2025 F1 revenue was $3.87 billion, +14%, and sponsorship accounted for 21.7% of total revenue: it is the first time, since Liberty Media arrived, that it passes 20% (Liberty Media, Black Book Motorsport). New partners in 2025 include a ten-year contract with the LVMH group (Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy, TAG Heuer), Nestlé, Santander, Allwyn and PepsiCo (Black Book Motorsport), and F1’s partners have more than doubled since 2020, from 12 to 27 (Formula1.com). MotoGP closed 2025 with $573 million in revenue, +14% on a pro-forma basis (Liberty Media).

For anyone wanting to enter, a growing market means more competition for the same space: that is our reading, not a published figure.

4. Long-term partnerships

Motorsport rewards those who stay. LVMH’s deal with F1 lasts ten years (Black Book Motorsport) and Shell declares a technical partnership with Ferrari that starts from the first World Championship, in 1950 (Shell, figure declared by the company).

In F1 this also shows in the entry conditions: a minimum level of $2 million a year, two seasons minimum, no single race (RTR Sports Marketing, September 2026 survey). Renewal is not a given and should be decided with clear criteria, as the guide on when to renew, renegotiate or switch a sponsorship explains.

5. Technology and innovation to talk about

From 2026 F1 power units keep the 1.6-litre turbo V6, remove the MGU-H and raise the MGU-K from 120 to 350 kW, up to around 50% electrical power against about 20% for the previous units, and all teams use advanced sustainable fuels (Formula1.com, Motorsport.com). For energy, automotive, technology and finance brands this is concrete storytelling material, as the article on how sustainability is transforming motorsport sponsorships shows.

The limit: the technical story has to be told. The logo alone does not communicate it.

6. A measurable return, if defined first

The return on a sponsorship is measured only against objectives set beforehand: awareness, business contacts, sales, hospitality, impact on the local area. An example from our archive: at the 2000 World Ducati Week in Misano a regional investment of 294.2 million lire generated an economic impact of 13.8 billion lire, a ratio of 1 to 46.9 (RTR Sports Marketing, archive data, Promozione Alberghiera Rimini). The case is told in the World Ducati Week case study.

It is not the return of a sponsor brand but of a territory, and it dates back 26 years: it shows that return can be measured when you decide what to measure, not that it is guaranteed. After signing, what matters is sports sponsorship activation.

The limits to know before signing

• A fan base is not the audience a brand reaches: what counts is where the logo sits, for how many races and on which media.
• Surveys measure declared attitudes, not sales: F1’s “one in three” is the answer of highly engaged fans.
• Deals are long-term and have entry thresholds: in F1, $2 million a year and at least two seasons, no single race (RTR Sports Marketing, September 2026 survey).
• Each championship has its own audience and conditions: the choice between F1, MotoGP and others is made on audience, objectives and budget, not on the number of fans.

How to assess entering motorsport

The useful question is not whether motorsport works in the abstract, but which part of its audience and visibility serves your brand, with what budget and for how long. To get oriented there are the guide on the cost of a Formula 1 sponsorship, the page on Formula 1 sponsorship and the one on MotoGP sponsorship; for the general picture there is the article on the benefits of sports sponsorship.

Motorsport’s numbers are growing. A sponsor’s return depends on what it decides to measure before signing.

Image: fauxels, Pexels.

Sources: Formula1.com, the 2025 season in numbers; Formula1.com, Global Fan Survey 2025; Motorsport.com, MotoGP 2025: the records; Liberty Media, 2025 results; Black Book Motorsport, F1’s 2025 accounts; Formula1.com, the 2026 power units; Motorsport.com, the 2026 engine regulations; Shell, Shell and Ferrari; RTR Sports Marketing, September 2026 survey of market thresholds in F1 and RTR archive for the World Ducati Week case (Promozione Alberghiera Rimini).