F1 Rumor: Team payouts to increase with new Concorde Deal

Rumor has it that Liberty Media will agree to larger team payouts in the new 2026 Concorde Agreement to accommodate Andretti-Cadillac.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

As we understand it, Andretti has given up on making it onto the F1 grid by 2025 to avoid an increase in the anti-dilution fee.

While the 10 existing teams want that fee increased from $200 million in the current Concorde Agreement to $600 million or more, most of their concern will be eliminated if the prize money payout formulas are adjusted for an 11th and possibly even a 12th team in 2026 and beyond.

Liberty Media certainly has the resources to increase the team payouts to stop the teams whining about it.

The company that controls Formula 1’s commercial rights is the most valuable sports empire on earth.

That is the finding of the renowned business magazine Forbes, who despite a year-on-year value drop of 12 percent for Liberty Media nonetheless list F1’s American owners at being worth a staggering $18 billion.

Alongside many other media and entertainment assets, Liberty also controls SiriusXM, Live Nation, and the major league baseball team Atlanta Braves.

It all makes Liberty Media worth $3 billion more than Kroenke Sports’ array of sports teams, including Arsenal FC, and $5bn more than Fenway Sports Group – similar to Kroenke with assets including Liverpool FC.

The FIA has already approved the Andretti-Cadillac entry as the 11th team. As a result of that, plus Liberty Media rumored to allay team concerns over prize money, Michael Andretti is now aiming for 2026 to be on the grid with his new team, which also corresponds with the start of the new Concorde Agreement and the new F1 Technical Regulations for a new engine and smaller chassis.