Formula 1 merchandise sales double in 2022, are up over 1,000% in five years

Sam Cooper
Aston Martin Formula 1 hats on a table. Sao Paulo, November 2021.

Aston Martin hats on a table. Sao Paulo, November 2021.

Formula 1’s explosion in popularity has translated into merchandise sales with one of the biggest retailers reporting a 1,000% increase since 2018.

It is no secret that the popularity of Formula 1 has risen dramatically since Liberty Media took over in 2016, with the United States being successfully targeted as an area for expansion.

But it is not just the US where popularity is growing with many circuits finding their ticket allocations sold out and a growing demand for the sport across the world.

One way for fans to interact with the sport is to buy merchandise and a major retailer has reported triple digit growth in F1 sales in a single year.

Fanatics, who became the official F1 merchandise retail partner at grand prix weekends and online five years ago, said they have experienced a rise of 1,085% since 2018 and 101% since 2022 alone, of people purchasing Formula 1-related merchandise.

According to Sports Business Journal, merchandise was bought in 128 countries with the US leading the sales. The most popular states were Illinois, Arizona and New York while the UK was second on the list. Australia came in third while Mexico saw the biggest jump with 305% more sales in 2022 than 2021.

This figure will no doubt have been helped by Sergio Perez but Fanatics had not released rankings on how individual drivers or teams performed in comparison to each other.

F1 merchandise has become a big business of late, with the price of even a T-shirt costing £50 (€57/$60).

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Castore, a sportswear manufacturer founded in 2015, announced late in 2022 they had agreed a deal with Red Bull to supply their teamwear. Red Bull join McLaren in Castore’s F1 portfolio.

Another useful metric to measure popularity is TV viewing figures and they are also on the up, in the US particularly.

ESPN reported in November that an average of 1.21 million US viewers tuned in for each race which is an increase of 28% from 2021.

Twelve of the 22 races also set records, with the inaugural Miami Grand Prix becoming the most watched race in US history.

It is not just the US races that are seeing a boost in popularity Stateside either with Silverstone enjoying a 41% increase while Hungary and France were both up by 15%.