Disney Consumer Products has extended its Formula 1 partnership to include F1 Academy, the all-female feeder series launched in 2023. The expansion was announced Friday ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, adding distribution and licensing rights for the development series to Disney's existing F1 commercial relationship. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The move hands Disney control over F1 Academy content distribution across its platform portfolio—ESPN linear, ESPN+, ABC broadcast windows, and international Disney+ markets where Formula 1 already appears. F1 Academy currently runs a ten-race calendar supporting Formula 1 weekend events, with teams fielding drivers aged 16 to 25. The series launched with five teams in 2023, expanded to seven in 2024, and added Alpine and Williams factory-backed entries for 2025. Each team runs three cars. The commercial model resembles Formula 2 and Formula 3: teams pay annual participation fees estimated at €150,000 to €200,000 per car, drivers secure individual sponsorship, and the series championship offers a €100,000 prize pool.
Disney's interest reflects two calculations. First, the F1 Academy audience skews younger and more female than the main championship—42% of the 2024 broadcast audience was women, compared to 34% for Formula 1 overall, according to Nielsen Sports data shared with potential sponsors last September. Second, inventory. ESPN holds U.S. Formula 1 broadcast rights through 2027 under a deal signed in 2022 worth approximately $85 million annually, but faces increasing competition from Amazon, which holds exclusive Thursday practice rights in select markets, and Apple, reportedly in discussions for a post-2027 global package. Adding F1 Academy gives Disney more weekend programming hours and strengthens renewal positioning. The Academy races run 30 minutes, typically scheduled Saturday mornings before Formula 1 qualifying. ESPN already carries Formula 2 and Formula 3 feature races; adding Academy costs minimal incremental production but creates a three-tier feeder narrative Disney can package to sponsors seeking women's sports adjacency.
The licensing component matters more than the broadcast hours. Disney Consumer Products operates character and sports licensing separately; this deal sits in the sports division run by Tasia Filippatos, who joined from the NBA in 2022. F1 Academy has no licensed merchandise program beyond team-specific gear sold at circuits. Disney's infrastructure—existing retail relationships with Target, Walmart, Dick's Sporting House, and Fanatics—unlocks apparel, accessories, and collectibles revenue F1 Management has not pursued. The Academy's seven teams include Prema Racing, Rodin Carlin, ART Grand Prix, and factory-backed Alpine and Williams entries. Williams particularly benefits: the team has struggled to monetize its F1 Academy program since joining in 2025, fielding drivers Lia Block (daughter of late rally champion Ken Block) and Emely de Heus, both of whom carry personal sponsorship but no Williams-specific Academy commercial deals. Disney's retail access gives Williams a revenue channel without requiring direct team sales effort.
Disney's F1 relationship began in 2019 with a consumer products agreement covering apparel and collectibles in North America. That deal was extended in 2022 concurrent with the ESPN broadcast renewal. This Academy addition represents the first expansion into a Formula 1 feeder series. The timing aligns with F1's sustained U.S. audience growth—1.21 million average viewers across ESPN platforms in 2024, up 19% from 2023—and the addition of a third U.S. race in Las Vegas in 2023. F1 Academy does not yet race in the United States; its 2025 calendar includes rounds at Jeddah, Melbourne, Shanghai, Imola, Barcelona, Silverstone, Budapest, Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, and Austin. The Austin round, scheduled for October 18, will be the series' first U.S. appearance and Disney's first domestic broadcast window.
The competitive context is narrow. No other major U.S. media company holds feeder-series distribution rights across motorsport. NBC Sports carries IndyCar and its development ladder, Indy NXT, but that relationship predates Comcast's 2011 NBC acquisition. Warner Bros. Discovery holds no motor racing rights in the U.S. after losing NASCAR to NBC and Fox in 2024. Amazon's Thursday practice deal does not extend to support series. Apple's reported interest in Formula 1 post-2027 includes exclusive global rights, which would preclude any Disney renewal, making the Academy addition a hedge: if Disney loses F1 in 2027, it retains Academy rights as a standalone property with established retail infrastructure. If Disney renews F1, Academy becomes a bundled asset that raises the floor price.
The announcement was coordinated with Shanghai Grand Prix weekend, Formula 1's return to China after a five-year absence due to COVID-19 restrictions and calendar negotiations. China represents Formula 1's largest untapped commercial market; the Shanghai circuit holds a 56,000-seat capacity and sold out its 2025 allocation within 72 hours of going on sale in December 2024. Disney operates Shanghai Disneyland in partnership with Shanghai Shendi Group; the resort has 12 million annual visitors. The geographic overlap is not coincidental. F1 Academy's 2025 Shanghai round is scheduled for April 19, Saturday morning local time, with the Formula 1 race Sunday afternoon. Disney's Shanghai resort sits 32 kilometers from the Shanghai International Circuit. Expect licensed F1 Academy merchandise at Disney retail locations inside the resort beginning race weekend.
What to watch: Disney's first F1 Academy broadcast on April 19 will establish production approach—dedicated crew or a bolt-on to existing F1 coverage. Retail product launch timing, likely late May to capture the Austin race in October. Williams team announcements around Academy sponsorship, especially if a Disney-adjacent brand (Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm) surfaces as a car sponsor. And the broader Apple-Formula 1 negotiation, expected to accelerate after the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November, which will determine whether Disney's Academy bet is a bridge or a moat.
F1 Academy's 2025 prize fund increased to €165,000, distributed among the top five championship finishers. The winner receives €50,000 and an FIA Super License points allocation that counts toward Formula 1 eligibility. No Academy graduate has yet reached Formula 1. Disney's distribution does not change that. But it changes who is watching when one does.