McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown insists there is still room for growth among F1 teams after his operation soared in value to $5 billion.

The sale of a minority stake in McLaren earlier this month, consolidating full ownership with Mumtalakat and CYVN Holdings, set a new record for institutional investment in sports history as its value soared.

Zak Brown: F1 teams ‘on fire’ as valuations soar

MSP Capital, which acquired a 15 per cent stake in McLaren in 2020, and grew that to 33 per cent, exited the business earlier this month in a transaction that valued McLaren Racing in excess of £3.74billion ($5bn).

The British squad had been valued at $2.65 billion by Sportico in 2024. Initial reports claimed the MSP deal valued the team at $4.01 billion, however sources with knowledge of the matter insisted to PlanetF1.com that the true value is nearly 25 per cent higher.

And McLaren boss Zak Brown suggests those rising valuations figures are unlikely to slow down any time soon.

“Every time there’s a record deal, and whatever sport it is, everyone goes ‘oh, that was crazy’. And then you look back in five years, they’ve still gone up,” he told Bloomberg.

“I think our sport in particular has a lot of room for growth; 24 races, we have demand for probably 30 grands prix. The demand is strong.

“Our car has the best brands in the world, the Mastercards, the Googles, etc.

“The competition is amazing. Last year, four teams won, seven different drivers won multiple races – first time I’ve seen that in my 30 years following the sport.

“So the on-track competition is great. The off-track drama, as captured by Netflix, is fantastic. The demand for grands prix has never been stronger. So I think the sport, in many ways, is just getting going.”

The sport’s growth has coincided with the arrival of Liberty Media, and changes to the regulations which have provided teams with financial stability for the first time in the championship’s history.

A flatter distribution of prize money under the Concorde Agreement has benefitted the teams at the back end of the grid, while regulations have prohibited those at the front from simply spending their way out of trouble.

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The result is F1 teams that are no longer fighting for survival, but posting a profit. Such has been the transformation that they are increasingly seen as investment vehicles by the likes of MSP Capital, which boast a ten-times return on investment – it bought in when the squad was valued at just £560 million.

“The sport is on fire,” Brown observed.

“Every metric demand for teams – it wasn’t long ago, before Liberty acquired the sport, put cost caps in place, which kind of ensured everyone’s financial stability and on track, stability and competitiveness. It’s been a wonderful thing.

“The fans are coming out in the 10s and hundreds of millions, sponsors, partners in the sport unlike we’ve ever seen before. So the sport is on fire, and long may it continue.”

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