Is $6B Mercedes Formula 1's Most Valuable Team?
It was recently announced that the Mercedes F1 team CEO and co-owner Toto Wolff is selling some 5% of his shares in the team. The asking price for that 5% is reported to value the racing team at around $5.6 billion. That is a hefty chunk of change. But is that valuation fair? And where it does it stack up against other teams in F1, and even other sports?
Well, this article will look at just that. From the team's recent form to the brand's global strengths and the growth of F1 as a whole, to the specifics of this recent valuation, and how it compares to the rest of Formula
Mercedes' Recent Successes Are Many, and F1 is Also Growing Fast
Mercedes was very dominant team not too long ago and they are one of the most recognized automotive brands in the world. Even fans of other motorsports - like players at nascar betting sites - or people who don't even drive, will be aware of the prestige of the Mercedes brand. Although not as historically successful as they have been in recent years, few would bet against Mercedes pushing for another Constructor's Championship victory in the next few years.
Between 2014 and 2021 Mercedes won eight consecutive Constructor's Championship titles and seven Driver's Championships, and had arguably the greatest ever driver Lewis Hamilton leading the team. However, in recent years the team hasn't been doing so well. In 2023 they finished second, but failed to record a single race win for the first time in a decade. In 2025, Mercedes sits second a distant second behind McClaren and just ahead of Red Bull in third.
However, any drop off in form for Mercedes has been more than offset by global growth in Formula 1 itself. The organization has been on a hot run of growth in recent years, which has also inspired a rise in team valuations.
The cost cap regulation introduced by F1 in 2021 has also helped stabilize the sport. After being a loss-leading project for their manufacturers for a long time, several top teams are newly profitable since the change - leading to increased investor confidence in them and the sport.
How do Formula 1's Other Teams Stack Up?
According to collected reports from 2024, all ten F1 constructors are now worth $1 billion or more, and the average team valuation now hovers around $2 billion. That's up an average of more than 150% on those valuations in 2014. Mercedes has seen its valuation rise by 270% over that time, even as it rose and fell from the dominant constructor position.
In other motorsports, for example as mentioned earlier NASCAR, teams are barely in the same league of valuations. The top NASCAR team is Hendrick Motorsports, valued at $360 million.
F1 teams are not publicly traded companies and so their finances aren't always available to the public. Valuations are usually based on consensus of investor research or the inferred value from private share sales that are usually made public.
The most-recently valued F1 team was McClaren went through an ownership restructure in 2024 and the share price reflected a $4.3 billion valuation. Red Bull has been valued at around $3 billion in a private valuation, and in 2023 Ferrari was widely reported to be worth around $4.9 billion.
The Valuation Isn't Totally Clear at This Stage and Things Could Change
The recently reported $5.6 billion private valuation of Mercedes F1, as Toto Wolff looks to sell off some his 30% holdings, would put it at the very top of the F1 pile. McClaren's $4.3 billion valuation was the previous record holder.
However, it was a private valuation by someone looking to sell - and the deal is not yet confirmed at that price. Negotiations are at a late stage, many media reports have confirmed, and the expected buyer is the CEO of Mercedes' cybersecurity partner CrowdStrike George Kurtz.
Aside from whoever will be the new shareholder and Wolff, Mercedes F1 is owned by German parent manufacturer Mercedes Benz, and British chemical manufacturer Ineos. Ineos purchased a 33% stake in the team for £208 million ($273 million) in 2022. If the reported latest valuation of $5.6 billion is confirmed by a sale, that 33% would now be worth $1.85 billion.
In context of the global economy, these figures are significant but not quite on the level of the parent manufacturers behind the teams. Ferrari N.V. is worth some $70 billion and Mercedes Benz is worth around $65 billion all told.
Public numbers aren't available for Austrian drink manufacturer and sports brand Red Bull, but media reports after a recent funding round suggest it is valued at around $25 billion. Interestingly, British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin's most valuable business is its F1 team - and by some distance. Figures weren't available for McLaren which is a privately held company.
3 F1 Fan comments on “Is $6B Mercedes Formula 1's Most Valuable Team?”
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Lack of titles and a star driver must mean Mercedes is in decline. They need to start winning.
whether method they are using is multiples of t/o or another method is important, because Merc f1 team, on paper buy the engines from Merc factory at Brackley for themselves and for the other merc supplied f1 teams, so obviously that means there t/o and profitability is super high, its just juggling invoices and delivery because Brackley could supply the items to the teams directly, or have i got this completely wrong..!
whether method they are using is multiples of t/o or another method is important, because Merc f1 team, on paper buy the engines from Merc factory at Brackley for themselves and for the other merc supplied f1 teams, so obviously that means there t/o and profitability is super high, its just juggling invoices and delivery because Brackley could supply the items to the teams directly, or have i got this completely wrong..! Brackley/Brixworth who cares