To derive the enterprise value of the 10 teams in Formula 1, Sportico calculated each team’s revenue, relying on publicly available financial statements from annual reports; Companies House, the UK’s registrar of companies; and the Italian Business Register. We used our own estimates in cases where detailed information was not available. We conducted interviews with those knowledgeable of team finances, including sports bankers, attorneys and investors who have looked at F1 teams. We traded candor for anonymity. This information was vetted by multiple teams and industry experts.
Total team revenues are displayed net of value added and other sales taxes. Revenue streams consists of two main buckets: sponsorships and prize money distributions from Formula 1. All revenue and profit figures are displayed in U.S. dollars using the average daily exchange rate during the 2022 fiscal year: £1 = $1.23 for UK teams and €1 = $1.05 for teams in Europe.
Most teams have at least two dozen sponsorship partners with annual deal values that can range anywhere from low six-figures to more than $60 million a year for title sponsorships like Oracle (Red Bull) and Petronas (Mercedes). Haas earns $25 million annually from MoneyGram. Sponsorship revenue has soared for certain teams in recent years with the growth of the sport. At Aston Martin, it has increased 1,000% since Lawrence Stroll bought the team in 2018; it is expected to top $220 million this year.
Formula 1 generates revenue from race promotion fees, media rights, sponsorship fees and ancillary sources, such as Paddock Club ticket sales and shipping cars and equipment outside of Europe. It distributes a portion of this revenue—45% in 2022—to the teams based on a formula in the Concorde Agreement, which is the contract between the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Formula 1 Group and F1 teams that governs the sport. The most recent agreement was signed in 2020 and covers the seasons between 2021 and 2025. It was the first Concorde Agreement signed under Liberty Media’s ownership of F1.
The 10 teams shared total prize money payments of $1.16 billion in 2022, up from $1.07 billion the prior year. The distributions consider the previous year finish by teams on the track in the Constructor standings, as well as the current year revenue of Formula 1. Title-winning teams and teams that finished in the top three over the past decade are eligible for additional payments. Ferrari gets an additional bonus that runs into the tens of millions of dollars because of its historical standing in the sport.
“Scuderia Ferrari and Formula 1 have gone hand in hand since 1950, and we are happy that this relationship is set to continue for a long time, as it is part of the very DNA of this sport,” Chase Carey, then-Formula 1 CEO, said when the Concorde Agreement was signed in 2020.
Teams generate additional revenue from licensing, merchandise and related business, such as Mercedes’ Applied Sciences division. That launched in 2019 to leverage its engineering expertise for clients such as the INEOS Britannia sailing team that races in the America’s Cup competition.
Revenue totals were subject to a team-specific multiplier, which remains the standard metric for valuing sports teams in transactions. Earnings can have dramatic fluctuations from year to year, and most F1 teams have had negative cash flow in recent years.
The team-specific multipliers were based on multiple factors, including historical sales, strength of brand, on-track performance (historical and recent) and infrastructure, as well as expected future team and F1 economics. Revenue multiples ranged from four (Haas) to six (Ferrari).
Values for teams were converted to U.S. dollars based on the June 23 exchange rates of £1 = $1.23 for UK teams and €1 = $1.05 for those based in continental Europe.
Of the 10 F1 teams, more than half of them participated with Sportico by providing or validating information; the others did not comment or respond.