Ferrari's F1 racing division now carries a $1.05 billion valuation, leading a constructor field where eight of ten teams crossed the $800 million mark in the past twelve months, according to data compiled by financial analysts tracking Liberty Media's championship assets. Mercedes sits at $985 million, Red Bull Racing at $950 million. The median team value rose 22% year-over-year, driven by Las Vegas GP gate receipts, new sponsor categories entering the paddock, and private-equity inquiries that have not yet closed.
The timing is inconvenient. McLaren CEO Zak Brown sent a formal letter to FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem last week calling for immediate rule changes to prohibit common ownership structures across multiple teams. Brown's memo—copied to Liberty's Greg Maffei and all ten team principals—argues that existing governance language leaves room for a billionaire or consortium to acquire stakes in competing constructors, creating conflict-of-interest exposure the sport has not yet stress-tested. Brown did not name a specific buyer, but three people familiar with paddock conversations say Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has held exploratory talks with advisors to both Aston Martin and Alpine since October. PIF declined to comment. Aston Martin's owner, Lawrence Stroll, has previously said he would "consider all options" if offered the right partnership structure.
The governance question matters because $6.2 billion in disclosed and rumored bids have circulated across six teams in the past eighteen months, yet only one deal—Michael Andretti's failed expansion attempt—reached the Concorde Agreement's approval threshold. The current rulebook requires FIA and Formula One Management sign-off for any ownership transfer above 33%, but does not explicitly bar a single entity from holding minority stakes in multiple teams simultaneously. Brown's letter proposes a hard prohibition: no investor, fund, or sovereign vehicle may own more than 10% in more than one constructor. McLaren's legal team has drafted specific amendment language, which Brown attached to his FIA submission. Two team principals told colleagues they support the restriction; three others have not responded.
Valuations keep rising anyway. Williams, valued at $730 million in the latest survey, is finalizing a $150 million equity raise led by Arctos Partners, the same firm that backed McLaren's $185 million transaction in 2020. Alpine's advisors at Raine Group are building a data room for a potential minority sale, targeting a $900 million enterprise value. Haas, long rumored for sale, now sits at $695 million—41% above its 2023 assessment—despite finishing ninth in the constructor standings. The math reflects revenue growth: teams collected a combined $1.1 billion from the Las Vegas, Miami, and Austin races alone in 2024, and the next Concorde cycle (2026-2030) is expected to lift the prize fund another 12-15%.
Brown's intervention creates a decision tree for Ben Sulayem. If the FIA adopts McLaren's proposed ownership cap before year-end, any PIF approach to multiple teams collapses. If the governing body delays or softens the language, sovereign wealth becomes the next valuation catalyst. The Saudi fund manages $925 billion; a $400 million outlay for minority positions in two mid-tier teams would register as a rounding error and deliver visibility across forty-four race weekends through 2030. That math explains why three financial advisors in London are quietly updating their F1 pitch decks this month.
Watch for two near-term events: Ben Sulayem's formal response to Brown's letter, expected before the December FIA Prize Giving in Baku, and the Williams-Arctos closing, slated for late Q1 2025. If the governance rules tighten, the Williams deal becomes the template—single-team, minority stake, U.S. sports-focused PE. If the rules stay loose, the template shifts to a PIF-style portfolio play, and the next headline will involve two teams signing binding term sheets on the same day.
The takeaway
Ferrari's **$1.05B** valuation leads the grid as McLaren pushes FIA to block multi-team ownership before PIF or similar funds test the loophole.
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