Formula 1’s engagement with US-based consortiums shifted to a higher gear when Liberty Media acquired F1 in early 2017, and since then, it has been in charge of the commercial side of the sport. Liberty Media brought with it a vision to completely rebrand F1 to make it more interesting for younger audiences. While F1 is becoming popular among audiences, it is also transforming into enormous investment opportunities for investors and companies.

Many of these investors and companies are US-based, which shows how much F1 has grown in the US after Liberty Media’s acquisition. What were just around 45 US-based companies affiliated with F1 in 2015 have now grown to 108 of them. And one of the most significant investments has been MSP Sports Capital buying a minority stake in McLaren.

Zak Brown says McLaren could be worth $1 billion by 2028

In an episode of F1’s podcast, Beyond The Grid, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali talked about the value of teams, not just in the sport but also about teams looking to enter it. While discussing the most recent Concorde Agreement (a contract between the FIA, the F1 teams, and the F1 Group that dictates the terms about how teams race and how prize money and television revenue sharing will happen), he said that there were talks that a team needs to be valued at more than $250 million to enter the sport. Stefano quickly dismissed this assumption by stating that there was a time that teams were bought for less than $2. 

Domenicali believes F1 as a business is growing, not just in numbers, but as an ecosystem investors want to join. He said, “The market is offering almost billions to teams, and they are refusing that. Can you imagine that?” But if teams are refusing such deals, how is McLaren on its way to being worth $1 billion?

In 2020, US-based investment group MSP Sports Capital bought a 15% stake in McLaren Racing which increased to 33% at the end of 2022, valuing the team at GBP 750 million. MSP’s investment of $185 million over two years was supposed to help the Woking outfit return to the front of the field. While the partnership didn’t help McLaren much in that department, it sure has helped increase the company’s value.

According to a Twitter post by journalist Vincenzo Landino, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown claimed that McLaren’s value could grow to over a million in five years, aided by MSP’s investment in the company. 

Since Liberty Media acquired F1, McLaren’s partnership with MSP isn’t the only US-based consortium that has shown interest in the sport and its teams.

Read More: American F1 Owners Liberty Media Take Vital $1.3 Billion Decision That Will Put a Smile on Lewis Hamilton’s Face

F1 is brimming with US-based companies now

Liberty Media took over F1 in 2017. Since then, the number of US-headquartered companies in the sport has doubled. A few of the most well-known are Google and Oracle. In March 2022, McLaren announced a multi-year partnership with Google to improve on-track performances using Google-run devices.

Oracle and Red Bull joined hands in 2022 to form Oracle Red Bull Racing. Their partnership was also intended to strengthen on-track performances. Given the difference between Red Bull and McLaren at the moment, the latter collaboration seems to have worked out better.

MSP is not the only investment firm to partner with an F1 team. In late 2021, Williams announced its partnership with New York-based Dorilton Ventures for mutual benefit.

What do you think? Has Liberty Media positively affected Formula 1, or do you prefer the pre-2017 times when F1 was a niche sport and not the increasingly popular sport it is now?

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