Formula 1 is worth £12bn a year to the UK economy, according to new figures released ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, with the four-day event at Silverstone alone injecting more than £100m into the domestic economy.
The level of the sport's contribution shows that Britain is almost stuck in motor racing. Ten of the 11 teams on the 2026 grid are either headquartered in the UK or maintain operational bases here, linked to the so-called Motorsport Valley tunnel which has become a global center of high-performance engineering. with sports and engineering services contributing around £16bn to the wider UK economy and supporting over 50,000 jobs.
That collection continues to grow. Cadillac has established its new Formula 1 facility in Silverstone in 2025, while Aston Martin, which has committed to the sport until at least 2030, and Mercedes are both pushing ahead with major expansion projects at their UK campuses.
“The British Grand Prix is Formula 1's biggest event and is expected to welcome the largest crowd in the sport's history,” said the Formula 1 data set. “It generates more than £100m a year for the domestic economy and is expected to generate more than £1bn over the life of its current contract until 2034.”
An estimated 500,000 fans are expected to attend the 2025 British Grand Prix, with some estimates suggesting as many as 560,000 could pass through the gates of the Northamptonshire circuit this year, a record for the sport.
The huge figures come months after the sport publicly criticized the Home Office and the government widely over the visa regime that supported the race weekend. Written evidence submitted by F1 chiefs to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said “tighter regulations, particularly post-Brexit, could lead to significant delays in getting hundreds of workers into the country, increasing costs and jeopardizing the delivery of the Grand Prix every year”.
Formula 1 says it supports thousands of highly skilled jobs and attracts global investment to the UK. “Britain has built a world-leading motorsport complex that combines advanced manufacturing, high-quality research and development, engineering excellence and superior sporting performance,” it notes, pointing to the group's heavy investment in vocational training, graduate programs and STEM access.
Stefano Domenicali, president and chief executive of Formula 1, says he wants the UK government and the sport to work together. “As a sport, we want to continue to build here, and to do that we must maintain, and improve, the conditions that make everything possible,” he said.
His call for a competitive business and regulatory environment that makes the UK the best place in the world to design and build high-performance technology, from the right incentives for R&D-focused businesses, a system currently under review by HMRC amid concerns about fraud and error, to a planning system that supports the expansion of high-quality engineering campuses.
Second, he wants a visa system that allows the world's best engineers to come to Britain quickly and without conflict. “Sometimes the process of obtaining work visas is very formal and uncertain. This creates uncertainty in the recruitment process as to which roles are unique and challenging,” he said. “Our competitive success is built on talent and, alongside investing in the homegrown talent of the future through our education programs and universities, technical colleges and apprenticeships, our teams must be able to hire the brightest minds, wherever they come from.”
Thirdly, he encourages the government to support the British leader in fuel consumption. From this year, all F1 cars use improved sustainable fuel, and Domenicali says the UK has an opportunity to adopt electrification technology to reduce emissions from road vehicles and transport. “Britain can lead as an innovator, with technology brought to the world's fastest game by the best minds, and be a place where this technology can attract investment,” he said.
Hopes are high for a win at home on Sunday, with Mercedes' George Russell battling team-mate Kimi Antonelli in the drivers' championship and young Lewis Hamilton for his first win in Ferrari colours.
F1 has called Britain home for 75 years, since King George VI watched the first world championship at Silverstone in 1950, and the circuit has hosted the British Grand Prix until at least 2034.
“This weekend, as the stadiums are roaring with the British champion leading the field, I hope that politicians of all parties will look at what this country has built and be determined to protect it, win it and help it grow,” said Domenicali.
