Formula 1 is an expensive, exclusive and – to the likes of Andretti, at least for the time being – an elusive club.
You think F1 teams, you think money – and why wouldn’t you? Global recognition, blue-chip sponsors, luxury brands and home to the fastest drivers on the planet… it must all add up. But do all of those assets equate to cold, hard cash?
The Dallas Cowboys have just become the first team in history to top a worth in excess of $10billion, with the NFL home to several other franchises who come close to passing the same mark.
To put that into context, its value of $10.32bn could get you Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull and still leave over £2million spare.
All F1 teams now turn a profit, regardless of their position in the pitlane, and that is a tell-tale sign that the series is in rude health – gone are the days of the backmarkers’ begging bowls, with values on the rise across the grid.
Take Williams as a fine case in point, the once family-run team was sold to US investment firm Dorilton Capital in 2020 during a run of three successive seasons in which it finished bottom of the constructors’ championship.
The fee commanded to complete the deal was $200m, whereas today’s estimated valuations put Williams around the $725m mark – despite little improvement in on-track displays.
However, results are not a sure-fire way to boost the worth of a team; sporting success is not a prerequisite for business performance.
Matthew Savage, Chairman, Dorilton Capital, Paul Asencio, Chief Revenue Officer, Williams Racing
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
The aforementioned Dallas Cowboys have not reached the NFC Championship Game in 28 years, and the last time they won the Superbowl, Michael Schumacher had just defended his drivers’ world championship with Benetton.
On average, annual revenue for an F1 team has increased almost threefold since 2018, and the rise in popularity of the championship has also seen a clamour from companies and corporations to get their brand emblazoned on cars and overalls, with new sponsorship deals seemingly announced on a weekly basis.
Speaking to the James Allen on F1 podcast, Liberty Media chief executive officer Greg Maffei said he didn’t expect the bubble to burst any time soon.
“People raise capital, Aston Martin recently did a raise that was substantially higher than the numbers we were discussing there,” Maffei replied when asked if he felt the value of an F1 team could one day match the 11-figure sum of the Cowboys.
“You’ve seen at least third parties like Sportico or Forbes value Ferrari and Mercedes at numbers like $3bn and $4bn.
“So I’ve seen Dallas Cowboy numbers…but we’ve grown a lot, I expect it will continue to grow.”
The cost cap is another big driver behind this boom in profitability.
Introduced in 2021, the cap limits the amount a team can spend over the course of a calendar year.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders perform at the front of the grid prior to the start
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
It means a total of $135m can be spent by each team on the grid, a move brought about to not only slow down the spiralling costs but also in an attempt to level the playing field.
Crucially, as well as the cost of engines, driver salaries and the wages of a team’s three highest-earning staff members do not fall under the cost cap rules.
So how best to make use of these regulations? It seems different teams have taken different approaches.
One source explained to Motorsport.com that, while one team boss may see the budget restrictions as an opportunity to help increase the value of said outfit, a counterpart will look to use the salary loopholes to blow a hole in system and bring in the cream of the crop – be it engineers, designers or team bosses – to improve on-track fortunes.
While teams strive to beat each other on the track, in a series which resembles a closed-league format seen in most American sports, the finances of individual outfits are all tied into the package – it is therefore in the collective interest for all F1 teams to be valuable.
“The closed-league system, if you like, is in effect in Formula 1: a team does not get relegated at the end of the year even if they haven’t scored a single point in a race,” Christina Philippou, Associate Professor in Accounting and Sport Finance at the University of Portsmouth, explains.
“That protects the value, there is no threat to the team in terms of losing revenue, broadcast rights and sponsorship by having to race in a lower category.
“Rivalries make sport but, with the same teams competing year in, year out, it bodes well to get new sponsors, new eyes and more money on board if they are all improving their worth.
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“That is the main reason the cost cap has worked; it has levelled that playing field to ensure teams towards the back may not throw good money after bad in an attempt to improve results, while also not being left in the dust of those at the front. It is a protection policy, in essence, and all teams benefit from that.”
As mentioned earlier, if the combined worth of Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes does not match that of the Dallas Cowboys, can, as Maffei suggests, F1 teams one day reach such heady heights?
Philippou believes the current climate presents the best chance to find out: “What can a Formula 1 team be worth, ultimately? The answer is, of course, whatever anyone is willing to pay for it.
“There have been some large sales in the football market in recent years but that does not mean every Premier League team can suddenly demand billion-pound takeover deals.
“It is the same in F1, although while competitiveness is high, interest remains piqued and something like Drive to Survive is telling the stories of the sport to a big audience, the figures would be higher than ever at this stage. There isn’t really a limit to how much they could be valued at.”
The worth of a team is all relative. Reports surfaced last year that Red Bull had turned down a $1bn offer for sister team RB – known at the time as AlphaTauri – as the series is enjoying peak years, unlike the earlier sale of Williams for what now appears to be a bargain-basement price.
Any potential newcomer with designs on taking over an existing team will need deep pockets to get on the grid, and while the first $10bn-plus F1 team might be some way off, the strength of the present product will only see numbers rise in the coming years.
