McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown has submitted a formal letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem requesting immediate rule changes to prevent any single entity from owning stakes in multiple Formula 1 teams. The letter, filed this week, arrives as F1 team valuations cross €500 million per grid slot and private equity circles the paddock with portfolio strategies.
Brown's move targets a regulatory gap: the current Concorde Agreement caps operational control but leaves ownership concentration undefined. Under the existing framework, a single investor or holding company could theoretically acquire minority stakes across three teams without breaching sporting regulations, provided day-to-day management remains separate. Brown's proposal would establish a strict one entity, one team ownership ceiling, regardless of stake size or board representation. The letter does not name specific threats, but the timing follows increased chatter around sovereign wealth funds and multi-club sports conglomerates sizing F1 entry points.
The commercial logic is straightforward. F1 teams now trade at enterprise values between €450 million (Haas, Alfa Romeo tier) and €1.2 billion (McLaren, Alpine tier), with top outfits like Mercedes and Red Bull Racing commanding implied valuations above €2 billion in private conversations. As these numbers climb, the financial engineering that reshaped European football—multi-club ownership under City Football Group, Red Bull GmbH's three-team network—becomes plausible in motorsport. Brown, who spent years at CSM Sport & Entertainment brokering sponsor deals across conflicting properties, understands the margin pressure. A hedge fund holding 15 percent of McLaren and 20 percent of Aston Martin could theoretically steer both teams toward the same title sponsor at discounted rates, compressing commercial income across the grid.
McLaren's timing also reflects internal positioning. The team is exploring a £500-£700 million capital raise to fund its new wind tunnel in Woking and upgrades to its Thought Leadership Centre, with Goldman Sachs and Raine Group both fielding inquiries from family offices and sovereign funds. Brown's public push for ownership restrictions signals to incoming investors that McLaren intends to preserve full pricing power in sponsor negotiations and technical partnerships—no portfolio dilution, no shared infrastructure mandates. It also preempts regulatory arbitrage: if ownership rules tighten after a deal closes, McLaren's valuation multiple holds; if competitors accept lower-priced capital under looser terms, their negotiating leverage erodes when Brown's proposed rules eventually pass.
The FIA now faces a procedural question. Ownership regulations require World Motor Sport Council approval and a vote from the F1 Commission, where teams hold 10 votes alongside the FIA, Formula One Management, and engine suppliers. Brown's letter accelerates the timetable: instead of a 2026 Concorde renegotiation clause, the issue lands on Ben Sulayem's desk this quarter. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff and Ferrari Chairman John Elkann have stayed silent publicly, but both control teams with €1+ billion valuations and no appetite for financial engineering that compresses sponsor economics. Haas F1 owner Gene Haas, conversely, might welcome liquidity options; his team runs on a $140 million annual budget and could exit at a premium to a consolidator.
Watch for an FIA response before the Miami Grand Prix paddock in early May, where Ben Sulayem traditionally holds stakeholder meetings. If Brown's proposal advances to the F1 Commission, expect counterproposals around 25 percent minority thresholds—high enough to allow passive capital, low enough to prevent operational influence. Separately, track which teams file supporting letters and which stay quiet; silence will indicate who is already in back-channel talks with multi-asset allocators.
Brown just forced every F1 owner to decide whether their team is a standalone asset or a portfolio component. The ones pricing exit options have six weeks to close before the regulatory window narrows.
The takeaway
Brown's FIA filing preempts multi-team ownership consolidation, protecting McLaren's sponsor pricing power as private equity sizes the grid.
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