Formula 1 Experiencesโ surge in Commercial Interest andโ Team Valuations
Formula 1 is experiencing a period โขof significant growth,fueled by escalating commercial interest โคand dramatically increasing team valuations.โฃ Commercial revenue for theโ series reachedโค almostโ $1.8 billion, a 12% increaseโค year-over-year. This heightened interest is mirrored inโ a substantialโฃ expansion of sponsorship,with the number of partners growing from 12 to 27 over the past five years.
Recent major agreements โฃunderscore this trend. In 2025, Formula 1 secured aโข 10-year contract with the Louis Vuitton Hennessy Moet (LVMH) holding company. New sponsors joining the series include PepsiCo,Disney,Barilla,PwC,ALT โSports Data,and Allwyn,while existingโข partnerships with โMSC Cruises โฃand โchefโ Gordon Ramsay (overseeing culinary projects at 10 races) have been extended.
This โคcommercial success is directly โฃimpacting team valuations. Ferrari remains the most valuable formula โฃ1 team โfor the third consecutive year, withโค aโข valuation of $6.4 billion โค- a 34% increase over โthe past year. Mercedes โฃfollows in second โฃplace at $5.88 billion (+49%), โwith McLarenโ securing third at $4.73 billion (a substantialโ 78%โฃ increase). Further down the list,โ valuationsโค have also risen significantly for Red โคBull โ($4.32 billion, โ+23%), โAston Martinโข ($3 billion, +45%), alpine ($2.08 billion, โค+68%),โ Racing โขBulls ($2.05โข billion, +68%), Sauber ($1.88 billion, +57%), Haas ($1.66 billion,+65%),and Williams ($1.14 billion, +73%).
Despite these rising valuations,โ outright salesโ of team โขstakes remain relatively infrequent. The most โrecentโฃ major transaction occurred in January 2025, โฃwith automakerโข Audi acquiring 100% of Sauber shares for โขan estimated โ600 million euros. Prior to this, Alpine sold a 24% stake to a groupโค of investors, including actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, โfor โฌ200 million in 2023, and Lawrence Stroll purchased Force Indiaโ for $135 million in 2018, later โrebranding it as Aston Martin.
Currently, significant interest exists in โacquiring both minority and โฃmajority stakes in teams. Racing Bulls reportedly rejected a โค$2 billionโ offer for โthe team โin 2025, โwith potential buyers including billionaires, institutional funds, corporations, automakers, andโค sovereign wealth funds from โthe Middle East.
Some team owners are capitalizing on increased valuations by โคselling portions of theirโ holdings. โAston Martin sold part ofโฃ its team stake this summer at aโ valuation exceeding $3 billion, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolffโ discussedโ sellingโค a minority โstake โขin โฃthe team at a $6 billion valuation in โearly November 2025.
McLaren exemplifies the transformationโ within Formula 1 since Liberty โMedia’s acquisition of the series in 2017. The team shifted from a $137 million loss onโค $166 million revenue in 2018 โฃto an operating profit of $76 million โon $700 million revenue in 2024. โThis was further demonstrated by a recent ownership restructuring โขin theโ fall โof 2024, where โthe Bahrainiโ fund mumtalakat and the Emirati holding CYVN acquired 30% โof the team, providing MSP Sports Capital – who initially invested $241โฃ millionโ in 2020 – with โขa nearly tenfold return โonโฃ their investment.
