Report indicates that only the FIA has yet to sign the new Concorde Agreement.
"The contract is currently with the lawyers."
By GMM
18 March 2025 - 10:25
The FIA has not yet signed the new five-year Concorde Agreement. The crucial document, which ties the teams to Formula 1’s commercial rights holder and the governing FIA, is set to expire this year. F1 announced the new deal for 2026 and beyond on the day of the season-opening Australian GP. However, a closer look revealed that F1 only stated that "all teams" had signed, while also claiming the deal "secures the long-term economic strength of the sport."
Liberty Media-owned F1 noted, "The 2026 Concorde Governance Agreement will be finalized in due course." According to Auto Motor und Sport journalist Michael Schmidt, "The FIA, as a third partner, is not yet on board." Tensions have existed for months between Liberty and the teams on one side and the FIA, led by Mohammed Ben Sulayem, on the other.
Schmidt believes that Ben Sulayem is likely to sign the new Concorde "soon." "According to FIA sources, the contract is already with the lawyers," he added. It appears not all of the existing ten teams signed simultaneously. One hurdle was the so-called 'anti-dilution' fee required from the new team for 2026, Cadillac, which is reported to be a staggering $450 million. This amount will be evenly distributed among the ten current teams, according to Schmidt.
Additionally, terms for a potential twelfth team in the future needed to be included in the new Concorde, with Auto Motor und Sport stating: "The aim is to avoid a repeat of the Andretti situation at all costs." Regarding the delay in obtaining the FIA’s final signature, Schmidt explains that the hold-up is due to "repeated disagreements over rule-making" recently, while President Ben Sulayem has been insisting on "significantly more funding for the future, citing increased workload and personnel needs."
"According to FIA representatives," the German correspondent concluded, "negotiations with Formula 1 are in the final stages. Rule-making and marketing issues have apparently been resolved. Now only legal approval remains."
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