In short
Louise Young, Formula One’s Chief Race Promotion Officer, explains how F1 manages the global race calendar (24 hosts/circuits in 2026) through complex promoter relationships, supply-and-demand dynamics, and long-term contracting. She covers travel realities, deal-making with local promoters/governments, and how geopolitics and logistics can force postponements.
Guest background
Louise Young is an Australian-trained lawyer who joined F1 in 2018. She worked on promotion relationships and contracting, led the business function around 2023, and became Chief Race Promotion Officer in February 2025. She manages promoter partnerships and event delivery support.
Key claims
Promoters are F1’s “physical arms and legs” (they own/market circuits and enable the show). Contracts provide certainty for major infrastructure investments. Relationships matter as much as written terms. F1’s biggest headwind is geopolitics.
Notable examples
Las Vegas extension to 2037; Monaco, Canada, and date changes shifting local supply chains; Bahrain/Saudi postponed due to the war with hopes for 2026; Madrid’s first-year event readiness via EFEMA; Turkey and Portugal joining next year; sustainability via mass transit and lower-impact logistics.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOLouise Young's Role in Formula One
0:45 to 1:50
Discussion of Louise's responsibilities as Chief Race Promotion Officer.
“firing on all cylinders at the moment, growing across all metrics pretty much since the Liberty media takeover, with media, sponsorship and fan growth all on the rise, as indeed is calendar growth.”
The Global Nature of F1 Promotions
1:50 to 4:35
Insight into the challenges and operations of F1 race promoters worldwide.
“Just returned from Monaco this past weekend, of course.”
Impact of F1 on Local Economies
4:35 to 9:00
Exploration of how F1 races affect local economies and the scale of promoter operations.
“So my role is to manage and maintain those relationships as well as organize the calendar and look at all of the exciting destinations we might visit in the future.”
Challenges in Managing Promoter Relationships
9:00 to 11:10
Discussion of the complexities faced in managing diverse promoter organizations.
“Formula One is notorious for running lean.”
Navigating Challenges in the F1 Calendar
11:10 to 14:00
Louise discusses geopolitical challenges affecting the F1 calendar.
“Attention to detail, obviously knowledge of the law, ability to know.”
Current Challenges in Race Scheduling
14:00 to 14:58
Exploration of the uncertainty around rescheduling races in the current calendar.
“conditions improve to be back in Bahrain and or Saudi depending on a few other bits and pieces.”
The Importance of the Las Vegas Race
14:58 to 17:52
Discussion about the significance of Las Vegas race and its long-term agreement.
“well set with all of our 24 hosts and hope that we can proceed in a normal way.”
Negotiation Styles and Relationships
17:52 to 19:31
Insights into the negotiation process with race promoters and the value of relationships.
“And Vegas now is setting an example and leading the way for many of our promoters in how they incorporate the community and bring spectacle to their events.”
Preparing for the Madrid Race
19:31 to 21:06
Overview of preparations for the inaugural race in Madrid and the city's cultural significance.
“And just in terms of, we have lots of commercial folks in the sports industry listen to this podcast.”
Unique Features of the Madrid Circuit
21:06 to 22:59
Details about the unique aspects of the Madrid race circuit and its design.
“You mentioned it there, and Madrid, first time on the calendar this year, end of the summer.”
Show all 20 chapters
Adding New Venues to the F1 Calendar
22:59 to 25:08
The rationale behind adding Turkey and Portugal to the race calendar and their impact.
“Something like a street race coupled with permanent infrastructure.”
Venue Selection Criteria for F1
26:06 to 28:00
Criteria and vision for selecting future F1 venues, focusing on accessibility and spectacle.
“I mean, you must have a checklist of things that absolutely are needed and then a kind of wish list of things that you'd love to be there.”
Understanding the Host Selection Process
28:00 to 29:13
Learn about how Formula 1 selects race hosts and the importance of mutual objectives.
“Is it just you've got to check the spam folder?”
Long-Term Contracts and Their Importance
29:13 to 30:41
Explore why long-term contractual agreements are crucial for race promoters.
“Obviously, there are fundamentals on the racing, the integrity of the product, etc.”
Future Race Locations and Global Expansion
30:41 to 32:58
Discuss potential new race locations and the challenges of expanding Formula 1 internationally.
“I wonder what the reason, whether that's deliberate and if it is, what's the reasoning behind it?”
Metrics of Success in Formula 1 Racing
32:58 to 35:26
Understand how success is measured in races and the innovation of sprint events.
“it is about a geographical spread as we've touched on.”
The Growth of Formula 1 in North America
35:26 to 39:41
Analyze the growth of Formula 1 in North America and the effects of major media.
“You see it in the feeder series in F2 and F3, but now in F1, really an accepted part of the sport that gives fans another chance to engage with us.”
Challenges Facing Formula 1 Today
39:41 to 41:21
Identify challenges that Formula 1 faces in a rapidly changing global environment.
“Like what is the challenge that you're facing that you've got to be wary of?”
Personal Insights on Favorite Races
41:21 to 42:00
Hear personal reflections on favorite races and the unique experiences they offer.
“And final question, Louise, what is the best race?”
The Unique Appeal of F1 Locations
42:00 to 42:18
Explore the special qualities of various F1 race locations.
“Melbourne, Montreal, Monaco, Miami, you know.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:04Hello and welcome to the Leaders Worth Knowing podcast, the sports industry show from leaders where we talk to the people worth knowing in the business of sport this week. I'm James Emmett and on the show this week is Louise Young, Chief Race Promotion Officer at Formula One. Louise is responsible for managing a calendar of races that now sits at 24 each year. That's 24 different promotions in 24 different parts of the world with different goals, cultures and contracts. Louise joined Formula One in 2018, having trained as a lawyer in Australia. She got her current role as Chief Race Promotion Officer in February 2025 and joins a C-suite at Formula One that is really firing on all cylinders at the moment, growing across all metrics pretty much since the Liberty media takeover, with media, sponsorship and fan growth all on the rise, as indeed is calendar growth.
1:08With the F1 calendar locked in until the end of 2028 and longer term deals aplenty, Louise's challenge has in recent years been in taking a creative approach to deal making with with F1's local promoters. This is a fascinating conversation from start to finish with F1's Chief Race Promotion Officer, Louise Young. Louise Young is with us in the studio now. Louise, how are you doing?
1:38Louise Young:Very well, thank you, James. Louise, I imagine your life is sort of 50-50 on a plane and not on a plane. Where have you been recently and how much time have you had sort of on the planet? I do travel quite a lot. Just returned from Monaco this past weekend, of course. This year has seen frequent visits to Madrid to catch up with our new friends there. Before that, we were in Turkey for the announcement in Istanbul. But yes, it is a bit of a juggle and plenty of time in a plane. There are sort of a handful of folks in the sports industry. I'm sure there are lots of industries where this is the case as well.
2:17But there's a handful of folks in the sports industry who have to travel so much. And you're definitely one of those people. And I wonder if you have any, I guess, as this role has developed, you've traveled more. And I wonder what you've learned about traveling and whether you've got a hack or a route as sort of, right, this is my going to the airport, getting on the plane routine. This is how to do it properly.
2:40Louise Young:You do get pretty polished at it and spotting the people in the check-in lines and the security lines that you don't want to be behind. Exactly, exactly. Slip on shoes, no belts, all those things. Yeah, speeds it up. And a sleep mask when you arrive. Do you try and stay on UK time? No, I mostly transition to wherever it is that we're going. Okay. I find night races are the hardest to accommodate and get up to speed with. then it just feels like you end up working all day because you've got the UK awake or you're catching up on a day that's already been ahead. But that's the nature of our business.
3:15Louise Young:We are genuinely global. When you wake up in the UK, Australia and all of Asia have had their working day. As you progress through the day, you then find North and South America comes online and it really is a global business. Tell us about the role then, if you will, Louise, Chief Race Promotion Officer nominally. Yes. What is it? What do you do? That role, I think, is a bit of a unicorn. And I'm really lucky to have that position. It combines the best of sport, politics, business, and creative commercial opportunities. So in my department, we look after all of our hosts around the world. So everywhere that we go, we have a team known as a promoter who are literally Formula One's physical arms and legs.
4:04Louise Young:They are our partners who market locally, who own a circuit, who build a grandstand, all of those things. People maybe don't see that separation between Formula One and the host, but really those partners are the reason that we have a show to put on. I've joked with people before that you don't have anywhere to place the signage. You don't have anything to broadcast. the teams don't have anywhere to race unless we have our race promoters. So they are really at the heart of the F1 business and the F1 ecosystem. So my role is to manage and maintain those relationships as well as organize the calendar and look at all of the exciting destinations we might visit in the future.
4:46And give us a sense of the scale of that proposition. How many of these promoters promotion organizations are you currently managing and then what's the wider ecosystem around
4:58Louise Young:that yes so technically if you look at the 2026 calendar there are 24 hosts named there 21 territories but 24 unique circuits and businesses if we look ahead a little in 27 we will welcome portugal and turkey to the calendar so technically there's 26 under contract and we've got a number of live conversations about the future. So that portfolio and that mix is changing all the time in terms of who we're working with. But when you look at a promoter organisation, they range from a core staff of say 10, expanding to thousands in race week. But these are really big ecosystems in their territories.
5:41Louise Young:When we ask a promoter or a host to change the date of their race, that moves entire supply chains. That's something we've really seen this year in Canada and in Monaco. Those two, we'd asked them to change up what had been a traditional race state and the impact for those businesses locally, you really see how that moves an economy. So each one of those 24 promoters and then 26 under contract, they each have presumably a different set of contracted rights and obligations. I presume no one promoter contract is the same. They've all got their own objectives, different markets, etc. And you talked a little bit about, right, a promoter organization would be sort of 10 people to thousands of people.
6:27I wonder what type of challenges you are managing and also opportunities for Formula One you're managing within an individual promoter organisation? Clearly, the F1 business model, you're looking for a fee from the promoter at the sort of base level. But then on top of that, what are you managing?
6:48Louise Young:Really, we're looking for an economic bargain that suits both of us. These events are incredible economic engines for the places that we visit. You might have seen the recent announcement of the Las Vegas extension, and it has a very clear and credible story now over these first three events of what it's done for that community. $3.2 billion worth of economic impact cumulatively is something that now Vegas can't live without. They really say, we know and understand the value of that opportunity in their city. Okay, it took time to build that know-how within the city and generate the enthusiasm, but it's become now a really clear value driver.
7:32Louise Young:But if we take a case-by-case example of all of these promoters, they are unique. We work with people, if we reflect on the past weekend, the ACM in Monaco, traditional motorsport, and that's at their core, but they service the principality. And the beautiful images that come out of Monaco to tell the story of tourism and what it can be to visit at the Principality is very clear. If I think about the Mexican promoter, Mexico City, incredible city, 20 million people living there, but that promoter strives to sell their tickets in three broad ways. First, a third in the city, a third in the country, and a third internationally, because then they have a story to give back to government about the visitation that they can generate across the weekend.
8:18Louise Young:You know, I was talking to that host recently about what the World Cup is for Mexico. And they're saying, hang on, we do this every year with Formula One at the same scale of what the World Cup can do in a once in a lifetime sense. So yes, the questions and the decisions, the priorities of our hosts are really varied. There's probably one common thread, which is this idea of being part of an illustrious group of only 24 each year, who can bring this type of entertainment, business connection, networking, and international exposure to the host city and nation. Yeah. How big is your team, Louise?
9:00Louise Young:Formula One is notorious for running lean. Yeah. So there's about 12 to 14 of us in race promotion. I also look after our team that does the event delivery for fan zones, stage activities, and the like, and so sort of another 20 of them. But then it sort of spins out a bit more broadly that we work closely with our colleagues in health and safety and security, motorsport in terms of timetabling and how the program gets put together. So we're a really multifunctional and cross-functional team. The most cliched question that anyone can ever ask, what does a typical week look like? Probably, as we alluded to before, sometime in an airport or in a plane.
9:40Louise Young:But yeah, it's a variety of things. So part of my function is looking after our relationships. So how do we improve and grow on past performance? And what themes or opportunities are we looking to enhance and grow in a promoter's business? So there's a fair amount of my time that's spent with our promoters, with our internal business teams, looking at those elements. Then on the other side, it's maybe a conversation about a renewal, perhaps a new race discussion, and maybe a connection with a government department who wants to highlight or change something in our relationship. So it is quite varied.
10:18And how did you get into this role? What is your background? And I guess, what do you consider to be your sort of key skill set that makes this role work for you?
10:28Louise Young:So I'm a lawyer by training and spent five years in the legal team at Formula One working on our promotion relationships and the contracting side of our business. You know, through COVID, we saw a huge challenge, but that became a great opportunity for me in terms of the work that was available. We renegotiated every deal at pace, at speed. And that really was my way to establish myself in the business as someone who knew all about these promotion relationships. In 2023, I was offered the chance to lead our business function then. and so moved across at that point and have been doing that for about three years now.
11:07Do you think it's all the sort of loyally qualities that you would presumably have? Attention to detail, obviously knowledge of the law, ability to know. Do you do the contracts all in the UK? Is it all UK? We do. It's all UK law. We do.
11:20Louise Young:Yes, yes. Or are there sort of softer skills that you've had to develop? Definitely. Definitely. I think it's having the grounding in what is normal or what is the deal terms, having that foundation allows you to go and have the conversation because all of these things, all of these networks, these relationships that we build are centered on those relationships. We saw this in COVID, but we're seeing it again now with the war. In some senses, it doesn't matter what's in the contract because it's the relationship. It's the conversation you have with the host, the partner, to understand their side of the story, to understand what's important to them.
11:58Louise Young:It doesn't happen necessarily because it's written down. My former lawyer self sort of cringing slightly there, but it really is about the relationships. Go to the contract as a last resort, I guess. You touched on it there. Obviously, a few things have happened in your department across Formula One in general. This year, you mentioned the war. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia both postponed earlier this year. First of all, where are we at in terms of the status of potentially rescheduling those races and then a little bit beyond that. Can you talk about, go into a bit more depth on the circumstances of coming to the decision to delay them and the ramifications therein?
12:36Louise Young:Yeah. So it was about the time that a large portion of the paddock was making their journey to Melbourne this year that the war broke out. And that was a difficult time for the Formula One community for sure. We are really reliant on how we travel and being able to travel easily and smoothly to make our way around the world. We had a real scramble that weekend to ensure that freight and people got to Melbourne. We did, they did, and it was all okay. Much rerouting of flights, but that did highlight, you know, we can't take for granted the relationships we have, the opportunities we have and the calendar that we put together.
13:19Louise Young:It is a geopolitically fragile time and we need to be grateful that we do as much as we do at the moment. Looking at the Middle East, it really was a decision taken with our partners there, the governments that sit behind those hosts as well as the FIA and the teams about what was best for the community and what would serve us and them. it was clear very quickly that that was not a moment in time and could stretch longer and we see that now being in June. So unfortunately had to take the decision as I say with our hosts to say we won't do it right now and we would hope to find an opportunity later in 2026 if conditions improve to be back in Bahrain and or Saudi depending on a few other bits and pieces.
14:10But nothing concrete there in terms of the rescheduling still. Yeah. Situation has not improved to the state that you'd consider it.
14:17Louise Young:There's still some uncertainty about the region, of course. We also have an existing calendar from here, which is tight. And, you know, we'll probably get on to talking about 24 races and what does that mean. To find a space for both of them, that seems very unlikely. We would hope to accommodate one of the two, but it is becoming increasingly unlikely that's going to happen at this stage. And are there a clear, obviously you will all work to try your best to include one of them or both of them this year, but what if they're unable to be incorporated into the calendar this year? What happens next year?
14:58Are they getting a double bubble?
15:00Louise Young:Oh, wow. That's a great idea. No, we've got our plans for 2027. well set with all of our 24 hosts and hope that we can proceed in a normal way. Just as we have for this year, a number of contingency plans, we've got some ideas about 27 should conditions not improve in the timeline that we need. Yeah. A few more agreements coming out of your department in recent times. You mentioned Vegas, You signed a long-term deal, essentially with yourself, right? It's a Formula One promoted event, but now locked into the calendar to 2037. Obviously, Vegas has to provide the funding, etc. Talk to me a little bit about that agreement and how important that race and that deal is for Formula One in general.
15:49Louise Young:Well, not entirely with myself. My colleague and friend, Emily Praiser, sits across the table from me when we talk about Las Vegas. and I think everyone has their own story of where did Vegas start for them, but for her and I, it started in a coffee shop below our building, riding on the back of nearly a napkin. You can have those rights and we'll allocate these rights to Vegas and backwards and forwards in a coffee shop. So, that became the starting or at least my starting point for the Vegas conversation. Sounds like the easiest deal that you've ever done. Have you negotiated with Emily? No, I'm not sure I'd want to.
16:25Louise Young:And likewise, how do we incorporate the resorts and the partners in Las Vegas? So, it is a race with untold complexity. You know, racing down the strip in Las Vegas was only a thing that people could have dreamed of a decade ago and bringing that to life. The images that come out of that, the nighttime shots are, I think, some of the best that we produce across the calendar. It's now, as I touched on earlier, a really established part of the sports and entertainment calendar of the city. They are adding properties in Vegas quite a lot. And Formula One has established some credentials for them, I think, alongside the work that they've done for many, many years in entertaining shows and tours.
17:14Louise Young:The sport change for the city has been massive. NBA, NFL, all of those things that the city hopes to have in the future, they can now hold up F1 as a real part of their profile to say, we've done this scale of challenge, let us have access to some more. Vegas, for the F1 business, really became a launching pad. Of course, we had a race in Austin for some time. We added Miami shortly after the pandemic and then Vegas in more recent times. So between those three, we have good representation in the region. The Apple TV partnership is quite reliant on having races in the territory, which is important to them.
17:58Louise Young:And Vegas now is setting an example and leading the way for many of our promoters in how they incorporate the community and bring spectacle to their events. You're joking, obviously, about negotiating with Emily. But I wonder on that theme, you do a lot of negotiating, I presume. And I wonder whether there is a particular person or particular style of negotiator that you really enjoy working with. When you look around your sort of 24 to 26 promoters, is there a particular organization that you kind of relish? You're like, well, I'm looking forward to that one when that comes out. Well, there's certainly some tricky ones.
18:35Louise Young:I'm sure, yeah. Well, that was my next question. Yeah. No, I think it's being ready to have the conversation before you need to have the conversation. It goes back to that point about relationships. Spending the time to learn what's important to the hosts is what gets you to a place that's a win-win. We've just been through a real transitional process in Montreal, for example, and the time we spent with them to get to know them, to understand what is a very complex situation for them in terms of the level of governmental involvement. You've got the park, which is separate from the promoter, which is separate from the city hall, which is separate from the province, and then the national government.
19:16Louise Young:To have a conversation with them and create change there, you need to have relationships all the way up and down the line. So, I think it's maybe less about the style and about the investment to have the relationship before you need to call on it. Yeah. And just in terms of, we have lots of commercial folks in the sports industry listen to this podcast. And in terms of putting together the process for putting together large, often complicated deals, would there be any further advice that you'd have beyond obviously do your, do the work before it gets to the negotiation phase? How are you, for example, noting down and circulating like important information that will play a role in a negotiation later?
19:59What kind of advice would you have on the process that gets you to that point?
20:03Louise Young:Our business is very multidisciplinary. And so pulling a lever in one place can result in a push somewhere else. For me, it's very important that I have a close relationship with other department heads or directors to know the impact of the choices that we're making. You know, we said before that the promoter is so central to our operations. And when we get on site. But if we don't coordinate that cross-functionally, we can find that there's something that doesn't work in the deal. So, it's the frequency of communication. We saw today, for example, a couple of my team members giving a brief to the business about what Madrid is going to be and what it's going to look like.
20:44Louise Young:Literally describing to people, how will you walk and move in that venue is an educational part of what we do. And people sometimes don't realise the number of people that arrive on site, the compressed timelines that they operate under, and how the circus moves so quickly, the amount of preparation that has to go into that can't be underestimated. You mentioned it there, and Madrid, first time on the calendar this year, end of the summer. I've just seen pictures from Madrid, from the stadium, the popes there at the moment. That's right. They have just welcomed the pope. Yeah, yeah. the Pope, then Lewis Hamilton later.
21:24Louise Young:Carlos signs last week, yes. All of God's people. How are preparations going for that race? Is everything ready? And yeah, what are your long-term hopes for that? Everything will be ready. Yes. Yes. So track paving is complete. Critically, there will be a track and the other arrangements are ongoing, but it will be ready. You know, EFEMA is an organisation which holds 400 plus events a year. These guys are absolute professionals. They've hosted NATO, they've hosted COP, they're now going to be motorsport experts and professionals. So we have total confidence that they will get to the place they need to be.
22:02Louise Young:First year events are notoriously tricky, but we've got the tools in place to support them in being really great. Before we started this recording, we were just reflecting on what Madrid is, and it really seems to be a European city on the rise. There's so much about the culture and the history of the city that they've been able to incorporate into the vision for the race. You will know that you are in Madrid. You will have no doubt. And that's one of the elements we really encourage with our hosts is to build a unique identity. And I think the team in Ephemer are going to be absolute leaders in that space.
22:39Louise Young:It's also about a long-term pathway with them, as you said. They've made incredible investment in creating this hybrid track. So, it's partially on their land, partially on public roads. And we've heard drivers already talking about how this is one of the perfect circuits in that it has so many different features. Something like a street race coupled with permanent infrastructure. It's going to have this incredible banked corner called La Monumental. And that's going to be its real feature and strength. So the community of Madrid, the city of Madrid are really invested in the success of this project.
23:17Louise Young:And we think it has a great and a long term path with us. Turkey and Portugal, also Turkey. Correct. In the correct terminology. They're new on the calendar for next year. Both of those, well, the promoters from both those countries stepped in during COVID. Could you explain a little bit of the rationale behind those new deals and how pleased you are with those. Yes, we are really excited that both of those are able to join us. So if we touch a little on the dynamic for us, it's about 24 races. And what can we do with each of those slots or each of those assets and inventory for us? How do we get geographical spread?
Read the full transcript
23:58Louise Young:How do we service our fan audience and, of course, have great racing. Formula One has historically been quite heavy in its European presence in terms of race calendar. And over recent years, there's been a view and a vision to diversifying our presence. We've done that fairly strategically. And each time we're adding or changing race hosts, it is with a careful plan. So, Turkey was able to join us as a result of the alternation arrangement that we've made with Belgium and Barcelona, which set us up to make that arrangement. And then Portugal has a short-term opportunity while we wait. We hope to bring in something else exciting down the line.
24:42Louise Young:But when you look at Istanbul, it's an incredible city. 16 million-odd people live there. It's got a motorsport culture and heritage. And actually something that both of those places have in common is circuits which are known for great racing. We saw that in the pandemic, as you alluded to. Both are going to be fan and driver favourites. Yeah. If we think about the Algarve, it's a really strong European tourism market. And the other thing that's interesting for us is we know the German audience, the American audience, and the UK are some of their biggest customers. So that's a different way for us to reach those markets without necessarily increasing or changing the number of races we have in those places.
25:27Back to the conversation in just a moment. But first, some exciting news about Leaders Week London. Leaders Week London, the global gathering for senior decision makers in sport, has a new home for 2026. We'll be landing at Stamford Bridge with our brand new host partners, Chelsea Football Club, on the 7th and 8th of October. And working closely with the team at Chelsea, our goal is to make Stamford Bridge the home of international sports business for the week. And you can find out more about our plan so far at leadersinsport.com forward slash leadersweek. That's leadersinsport.com forward slash leadersweek.
26:06What does F1 look for now in a venue? I mean, you must have a checklist of things that absolutely are needed and then a kind of wish list of things that you'd love to be there. But yeah, what do you need and how has that changed in the last few years?
26:22Louise Young:There are some elements which are very practical and essential commitments to the teams in the FIA about how things happen. But if we zoom out, it's about spectacular destinations. Shortly after the Liberty acquisition, the then chairman spoke a lot about, we want 24 Super Bowls every weekend. How do we have places and venues, cities that come alive that can do that? And I think that's still part of our mission now. You know, you see that in the venues that we've added in recent times, Vegas and Miami, for example, what can they do and be in terms of the spectacle? Okay, there's some practicality about their functionality and what facilities need to be there.
27:05Louise Young:But how easy is it for a fan to access the site? That's one of Madrid's real strengths. It has a metro station at two corners and a train station at another. It's now about the whole package. And these choices become so significant because they come at the cost of someone else. Potentially someone with a 30 or 40 year heritage and relationship with us is the only way that someone can access that slot on the calendar. So each proposal has to be tremendous. And what is the general process for getting a proposal through, getting a serious proposal? You're in the amazing position now where, I mean, it's not fortunate you've worked at it, obviously, as a team, but, you know, the roster is full and the roster's full for a long time.
27:52What's the process for getting a new city, a new venue onto the F1 calendar?
27:57Louise Young:Well, hardly a week goes by that we don't get an approach from someone. And how do they come through? Is it just you've got to check the spam folder? People find us. But, you know, we receive weird and wonderful proposals all the time. And yes, we have a process to understand them and also to educate a prospective host on what it takes. Sometimes there is a glimmer and an idea that needs to be worked on and enhanced to get to a place where it could be serious and credible. We typically run a structured process of diligence together with the prospective host because it's as much about us deciding we want the host as it is about them deciding they want the opportunity.
28:42Louise Young:So, you know, three to six months to work together to really understand each other's business objectives. And sometimes you get to the end of that process and say, you know what, it doesn't suit both of us. It's not the right thing. but equally if i ask any of our 24 hosts on the calendar now would you like to stay and would you like to be there in the future the answer is a resounding yes so that makes it very difficult to to break into you talk about the liberty the big macro liberty objective of having 24 super bowls got to be a sort of glitzy aspirational location in the world got to have a good geographical spread Obviously, there are fundamentals on the racing, the integrity of the product, etc.
29:25Is there a preferred contractual model, I suppose? Is there a preferred type of promoter? Would you prefer to have government backing? Would you prefer to have private? Is there a preferred operation?
29:37Louise Young:Structurally, not really. We have a lot of flexibility about that. But typically, you will find government features somewhere in the ecosystem. It depends on each territory and how they're set up. But, you know, it's hard for a private promoter to put onto their P &L the marketing and the broadcast exposure that they get as a result of hosting a race. That's typically something that accrues to the host nation who's trying to market themselves to say we're part of this elite club and bringing eyeballs and attention to the city. So there's a large part of our proposition which best suits government, not to say private can't enter and not to say private aren't with us right now, but that's an element of the value proposition for sure.
30:24We talked about Vegas earlier being locked in until 2037. The whole calendar is locked in, am I right in saying until the end of 28? Is that right? Even if some isn't announced? No, all announced. Everything announced. Yes, yes. No secrets in that one. So up until the end of 28, completely blocked out. Yes. It strikes me that, you know, with the exception of one or two, the Portugal deal, for example, the promoter deals that you're doing are long, they seem to be longer. I wonder what the reason, whether that's deliberate and if it is, what's the reasoning behind it? What does it give you to have long-term certainty, I suppose?
30:58Louise Young:Yeah, it is about that certainty point, James. So, if we focus on our friends in Victoria, they are in the middle of rebuilding their pit building. They've knocked it down. By next year's event, there will be garages and a structure ready to race in again. But those are the decisions that governments and cities aren't making without a clear long-term trajectory. Okay. We've just seen the same in Hungary. And it's fair, I think, when we're looking at these major investments, these really big use cases, that people are saying, well, I need time to recoup that investment. And that serves us in multiple ways, improving the facilities, improving the experience.
31:41Louise Young:And as we've touched on, certainty for planning our calendar. What's the name of the promoter that Melbourne had for such a long time? Ron. Walker. Ron Walker. is very famous for acquiring the race from Adelaide. Totally, yeah. Yes. But are we still in that? Are we in the era of like colourful promoters, like individuals who, you know, or is it a different game now? No, they all have lots of personality and pizzazz for sure. Okay, all right. Let's talk about the potential. You talk about this long-term certainty. It therefore becomes, it's a luxury but specific set of challenges that you have in that you want to keep the demand there and you have to keep people interested and you know that it's a realistic prospect that they will at some stage be able to get on the calendar yet also you have to be dealing in managing expectations quite a lot of the time.
32:36A lot of territories there where there are sort of rumors and discussion around when is the next race or first race going to be there, Africa, for example. Argentina seems to be hammering down the door at any particular opportunity. Yeah, talk to us about some of these specific areas where future races have been talked about and the likelihood of them.
32:57Louise Young:I think for us from a business perspective, it is about a geographical spread as we've touched on. And Stefano, for example, has been very clear that he has an ambition to be in Africa, but we want to do it at the right time with the right partner to have a sustainable pathway with them. So, that's something that we're actively working on. Equally, we consider that there's more opportunities in Asia, some big markets there that we think we could do something in. So, conversations there. Bangkok street race, for example. Potentially in Thailand, some other parts of Asia that have expressed interest and could be a possibility.
33:36Louise Young:And then South America, as you've touched on, we have a race in Sao Paulo, which has a lot of history and legacy, but would we be served by having another event, perhaps in Argentina? Yeah, these are all open questions, which keep a few of us up at night. I think within F1 fandom, I'm not necessarily sure about sort of outside, you know, more casual fans. I think F1 fans consider street races versus circuit races, like that's a thing. That is a conversation, yes. Old versus new or sort of traditional versus these newer races and, you know, the need for balance in all of these things. I wonder whether you have any particular metric.
34:18How do you measure the success of any given race and whether those sort of balances that F1 fans talk about at least come into how you measure things?
34:28Louise Young:Yeah, I think we have an eye to those details for sure. But if we look back on this season, we're now at a point where every event has sold out. It is our ambition that that will continue across the year. So on one metric, you can say that is a very successful product. We're also looking at ways to innovate our product. A couple of years ago, we introduced the sprint. There was three first, then there was six events across the year as we have this year and perhaps a possibility of more in the future. so that's a way that we can innovate the product have more interesting and exciting activity on friday and saturday live racing both days rather than just practice sessions so that becomes another metric that we can be talking to our hosts about driving business to friday having people there longer um people spending time on saturday when they might have only come in for qualifying all of those types of things are ways that we can grow the promoter business and tick another box on that metric.
35:25Louise Young:And I think sprint is increasingly becoming a fixture of our sport. You see it in the feeder series in F2 and F3, but now in F1, really an accepted part of the sport that gives fans another chance to engage with us. Is 24, is that the max limit? Today, it's the optimal number. It is no small thing to arrange a calendar of 24 events around the tomb sweeping festival in China, a politician's agenda, a calendar of major events elsewhere. There's a lot of constraints on how we could expand beyond that. I think we never say never, but for today, 24 is the optimal number. And just in terms of trends that we've seen play out over the last few years, clearly since Liberty have come in, there's been an emphasis on a successful attempt to grow the sport in North America, both through Drive to Survive, obviously, but more races in the US.
36:23Is that a trend that you're looking to continue? Could we see more races in the US at some point?
36:29Louise Young:Perhaps, but we should also look at the broader context in which we operate there. So, Austin renewed to 34, Vegas we've already touched on, and Miami out to 41. So, those three certainly are going to be around for a long time. We likewise have our presence in Montreal, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo, as I've touched on. So, really, when you take a broader picture, you've got six across North and South America, six of your 24. So, for now, we're in a relatively stable place. The alternating thing that you agreed with Barcelona and Belgium, is that an arrangement that you feel could be replicated elsewhere?
37:07Louise Young:Potentially. Somewhat of a test case there, although it has happened in the past, for example, between two German hosts. Yes. And yeah, if the circumstances are right, that could be something for the future. Where does sustainability fit into the kind of list, the tick box that you have for these venues? And particularly in this era where there are other motorsport series that have sustainability, there are other sports series that have sustainability at their core. Formula One clearly is making some attempt to go towards a more sustainable future. Where does it figure in your discussions with promoters?
37:42Louise Young:Yeah, pretty high on the list. So, promoters as the entity which does a lot of the on-site delivery needs to think about where does it acquire its food and beverage. And we're now working with partners like Pepsi who can be supporting the promoter in that sustainability journey. Likewise, we talk to them a lot about how fans move. So can they travel by public transport? Can the city support better the circuit to deliver a mass transit solution? Likewise, within our business, we're looking at how we move and also the way we plan our calendar. So we've had big strategic change in this 2026 calendar by consolidating the European season.
38:27Louise Young:We had a number of flyaways at the start of the year. And for those who weren't familiar, basically there was an additional crossing of the Atlantic to reach Montreal. But now we have a consolidated approach where we can move from Miami directly to Montreal. And this year for the first time we did it by a combination of sea, road and rail rather than relying entirely on air freight. So that's something that, you know, we're really talking to our promoters about and factoring into how we move. Yeah. Just a sort of strategic level. Everything at Formula One has been coming out smelling of roses in the last few years.
39:05It must be a very satisfying sort of rocket ship to be on. But it seems to me as an outsider, since the Liberty takeover, there have been huge wins, obviously in growing the sport in North America through Drive to Survive. The Apple movie recently has been a smash hit. the new races in America seem to have taken hold and taken the imagination in the US. Formula One's now got this sort of cultural crossover thing where new fans are into the sport, even if they're not necessarily into the sport, if that makes sense. The commercial departments are going great guns. Emily and her team getting partners left, right and center, forging agreements with race promoters to have partners operating across all sorts of different territories, you and your team, like blocking out the roster until 2028 and beyond.
39:57How do you mess it up, Louise? Like what is the challenge that you're facing that you've got to be wary of?
40:03Louise Young:Well, I think what you've described there, James, is the thing that I call the great democratization of our sport. We're working with partners now that help us reach fans in a different way. The movie, as you touched on, Drive to Survive, the partnerships and bigger attendance at races. it is now really that you can have formula one on your kit kat formula one on at home and you've got a better chance to visit an event than ever before so that puts us in a real position of strength of course there is a business product still which reaches a corporate audience but now this transition to be consumer facing in a really direct and tangible way has been an important part of that so we think the base is good that's basically what you've just said we think the base is good.
40:46Louise Young:We think it's solid. We think we've got plans to continue to grow the business. You know, a lot of time is spent on thinking about that forward trajectory and that journey. I think the biggest headwind we face is the geopolitical situation. And what does that mean for the world in a bigger sense? And how do we manage that? And a lot of that comes down to the geographical spread. So, having a presence in a lot of different places such that if there's a challenge like the one we're seeing now, we're not over-indexed or overexposed. But that's probably our greatest challenge at the moment. And final question, Louise, what is the best race?
41:25Louise Young:My goodness, I couldn't. No, come on. I couldn't ever. You've got to give me something. What race do you most enjoy experiencing? I'm Australian. So, going back to Melbourne is lovely. I'm not from Melbourne, but And that is always great. I think equally what the Dutch do to engage that audience, have 105 ,000 Dutch fans on their feet dancing to a Dutch DJ is something entirely unique. I can't name all 24. That's the problem here, James. You've got to select some of your favourite children. Yeah, there are. There used to be this thing of everyone starting with M was the favourite child. Melbourne, Montreal, Monaco, Miami, you know.
42:06That's one way to divide them.
42:07Louise Young:but no of course I have to say that they're each special and there's a very valuable and valid reason why each of them make up this this group of 24. Very good Louise I'm we'll turn the recording off now and you can tell me what your real favorite one is. Louise Young thank you very much indeed.
From the publisher
Louise Young is responsible for the F1 calendar. The Australian lawyer and her team manage the motorsport series' relationships with promotor organisations around the world.
They are responsible for bringing in new races onto the calendar; for negotiating contracts with existing race promotors; and for ensuring that host venues meet all the requirements - safety, racing, logistical, commercial, fan experience - that a modern, elite, global racing series has.
F1 is having a moment. Propelled by the takeover of Liberty Media in 2017, and spurred by the success of media initiatives like Drive to Survive and the F1 movie, the series is riding the wave of success; growing its fanbase around the world as well as its portfolio of partners.
The calendar, too, is in a good place. There are 24 races in the 2026 F1 season. Young and her team have 26 promotors under contract and a schedule that's locked in through 2028.
As she explains on this episode of Leaders Worth Knowing, her challenge is a sophisticated one: making good on F1's mission to have a truly global spread of 'Super Bowls' on the calendar, and maintaining serious interest in race hosting around the world with little short-term hope of awarding rights.
But new deals have been done of late. Creative negotiating has led to annually alternating race hosting in Belgium and Barcelona, allowing Portugal and Türkiye to come on to the calendar. Madrid is preparing to host its first F1 race later this summer. And rumours swirl around future races in Argentina and Africa.
But what does it take to become an F1 race host today? Any way in to Louise Young is the first requirement.