IndyCar will race in Washington, D.C. and I have the details of what we know and don’t know about the race in this week’s Business of Motorsport Roundup. I also have news on South Africa and India’s F1 plans, motorsport legal news, the latest sponsorship deals and much more.
Motorsport Industry News
Stefano Domenicali on the 2026 Rules Changes, New Teams, New Tracks, and the Future of Formula 1
Stefano Domenicali plays a pivotal role in the advancement of Formula 1 through his role as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the championship. As part of Santander’s Driving Tomorrow series, Domenicali discusses how the sport evolves while staying true to its DNA, his excitement at the new-for-2026 regulations, and the details behind sculpting a balanced race calendar.
“It’s great to share the fact that today, due to the great success we are all living, we have a lot of countries that would love to host the races,” Domenicali says. “But we cannot be too many. I think that the balance that we have today is great. When we are considering new events, new places, new countries, there are a lot of things that we have to think about, and have to put on the table.”
South Africa and India Want Back On the F1 Calendar
Both South Africa and India are looking to get back on the Formula 1 calendar. South Africa’s sports minister Gayton McKenzie has issued an update on the country’s push to bring F1 back to the country, despite past failures. “But now we’ve got the experts and are putting together a bid they can’t refuse.”
Meanwhile, the Indian government is pushing for F1 to return after a 13-year absence. “The minister recently visited the F1 track and held discussions with the promoters about when the next race could be held,” a ministry source said, as quoted by The Times of India. “He told the track owners to hand over the facility to a sports management company for two to three years, which will work on the sport’s comeback to India. There had been tax issues in the past which prevented hosting F1 races, but they will be resolved soon.”
Grand Prix Plaza Reopens As Formula One Lays Down Permanent Roots In Las Vegas
Grand Prix Plaza Las Vegas has reopened, and the significance goes beyond refreshed attractions or a renewed ticket push. Located within the same 39-acre complex as the Las Vegas Grand Prix Pit Building, the Plaza now operates as a permanent extension of Formula One’s presence on the Strip. This is no longer a race-week add-on or a temporary fan zone. It is a year-round space designed to serve two audiences at once. Fans who want to experience Formula One from the inside, and businesses looking for something distinctive at the center of one of the world’s most commercially aggressive cities.
Read more about the project over at Coffee Corner Motorsport.
Apple’s F1 Strategy Begins to Take Shape
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, has been speaking about the new partnership between F1 and Apple during an Apple TV press day, following on from the announcement in October that Apple would become the sport’s exclusive US broadcast partner from 2026. Here are a few articles looking at what Apple’s strategy could be in 2026 and beyond.
Christian Horner Declares That He Has “Unfinished Business” in F1
Christian Horner has finally spoken out about a potential return to Formula 1. “I feel like I have unfinished business in Formula 1,” he was quoted as saying by The Independent. “It didn’t finish the way that I would have liked it to finish. But I am not going to come back for just anything. I am only going to come back for something that can win.”
IndyCar Announces Freedom 250 GP of Washington, D.C. as 18th Race
The IndyCar Series has expanded its 17-race calendar for 2026 to include a brand-new street race around Washington, D.C. as part of the country’s 250th birthday celebrations.
The Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington D.C. was formalized with “an executive order signed today by President Donald J. Trump directed the White House Task Force on Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday to designate a race route through Washington, D.C. and the National Mall for the purposes of conducting an IndyCar Series race on August 21-23, 2026,” the series announced. “The event will recognize the historic milestone of America’s independence in addition to celebrating the unparalleled tradition and legacy of America’s motorsports industry.”
Monumental Sports & Entertainment has been signed to “serve as the official marketing, sponsorships and corporate hospitality sales agency” for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix according to the IndyCar Series.
Marshall Pruett at RACER looks at what we know, and don’t know, about IndyCar’s newest race. “Despite the potential appearance of an 18th race being conjured on Jan. 30, RACER was told the better part of six months of effort was invested in the project before it reached the president’s desk.”
Red Bull KTM Tech3 Have Been Acquired by a Consortium of Investors
Red Bull KTM Tech3 have been acquired by a consortium comprising IKON Capital, Bolt Ventures, and Main Street Advisors. Sports business investors David Blitzer and Paul Wachter are joining the new ownership group of the Red Bull KTM AG Tech3 team in MotoGP, becoming some of the first American financiers to take a bet on the series under Liberty Media’s ownership. “The group is investing $50M and will own 100% of the team, according to a person familiar with the matter.” Another investor is F1 driver Pierre Gasly.
MotoGP Will Benefit From Liberty’s F1 Playbook
Adam Stern reports that Guggenheim Securities feels that MotoGP will benefit from Liberty’s F1 playbook. “While 2026 is expected to be an investment year at MotoGP, we see a high probability that Liberty Media will successfully execute the Formula 1 playbook across Moto’s assets over the next few years.”
Doonan Remains Upbeat on “Vision” for 2030 Common Regs
IMSA President John Doonan said he’s still hopeful of a common set of top-class technical regulations for 2030 but admitted “we’ve got a lot of work to do” with the “devil in the details.”
“We had an awesome meeting last September in Paris with all of the manufacturers, the ACO and the FIA,” said Doonan. “I left that room with a lot of energy about maybe taking another step where we bring together the two different sets of technical regulations and try to, for 2030, as a target, to have one set of technical regulations. There’s going to be a lot of work needed to be done between now and announcing that.”
IMSA Labs and NASA: How Race-Tech Licensing Is Building a $20B Innovation Engine
The global motorsports market is projected to grow from $9.5B in 2024 to $20.1B by 2034, driven not by sponsorship alone but by racing’s evolution into a commercial R&D platform. IMSA Labs and its NASA partnership formalize that shift, turning race-proven technology into licensable innovation. Vantage explains how it all fits together.
Quick Takes on the Business of Motorsport This Week
Inside WEC’s Golden Era and More
Highlights from the Sustainable Motorsport Roundup
Porsche GEN4 Formula E Car Hits the Track
The Porsche GEN4 Formula E Car has hit the track, and I have the details in this week’s Sustainable Motorsport Roundup. I also have updates on Mission H24, Extreme H and much more!
The Numbers This Week
Rolex 24 Shines on TV
Adam Stern reports that NBC Sports says it got 1.1 million viewers for last weekend’s IMSA ROLEX 24 hour endurance race across two NBC telecasts, more than doubling up the 491,000 average last year across three windows (two NBC, one USA Network).
Motorsport Law Roundup
International Sports Law vs Global Sports Law: A Comparative Study
The world of sport has changed dramatically from amateur, local activities to a worldwide, commercialized business model. Sports are a global phenomenon with athletes, money, and media rights moving easily between countries. As a result of this change, the international sport governing bodies—namely the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) and FIFA have emerged as powerful organizations. No longer are these organizations simply producers of events, they are the architects of rules that govern the behaviors of players, clubs, and national authorities.
Legal scholars increasingly argue that traditional models of public international law are no longer sufficient to explain this regulatory explosion. Instead, we are seeing the emergence of a truly global legal framework.
International Sports Law vs Global Sports Law: A Comparative Study goes into detail on the implications of this global shift.
Williams Lands a Number of New and Returning Sponsors and More Deals
The Business of Running a Race Team
How I’m Building the World’s Only All-Disabled Racing Team
So how do you build the world’s only all-disabled motorsport team?
In this episode of the Team BRIT podcast, Lucy is joined by Mike Scudamore, Team Principal of Team BRIT – the world’s only all-disabled racing driver team. Mike takes us behind the scenes of what it really takes to build and run a motorsport team. We talk about what it takes to build a competitive motorsport team from the ground up while breaking barriers for disabled drivers. We dive into the challenges and successes running Team BRIT, acquiring sponsorship to fund the team, stories from past seasons and looking ahead to an exciting 2026 campaign.
Team & Manufacturer News
Honda May Be Coming to WEC and More
