Horrible Form Doesn’t Stop Mercedes From Making $100 Million in Profits

Since the start of the 2022 campaign, Mercedes has been in a downward slump and they haven’t recovered from it yet. The team’s form took a huge hit, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell miles away from competing for the top three. Despite these on-track woes, Mercedes seems to be in a good place financially. The German brand will be making $100 million in profits after tax, signaling that money isn’t an issue for the Brackley-based outfit.

According to reputed F1 journalist Joe Saward’s online blog, Mercedes Benz’s turnover for 2023 will be more than $630 million. Additionally, the company will get an after-tax profit of $100 million, which is $13 million less than what they got in 2022, but is still a huge amount.

F1 teams are bound by the budget cap, which is $135 million at the moment. But for teams like Mercedes, this amount is never an issue. Saward writes, “Teams can now be very successful if they have made all the investments required because they are restricted in what they can spend on building and racing the F1 cars. Thanks to the budget cap. Most teams are still investing to become more competitive but the big ones are now printing money.”

In addition to this $100 million bonus, Mercedes will be hoping to get themselves further up the grid. For the Brackley-based outfit to remain one of F1’s top teams, they will be spending most of their resources on perfecting the 2026 car.

Mercedes banking on 2026 regulations

Currently, Red Bull is the most dominant team in F1. The Austrian stable won the last two world championships, and remains the favorite to win it in 2024 too. Ferrari and McLaren have made progress, closing the gap to the Milton-Keynes-based outfit, but Mercedes remain far behind.

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— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) April 12, 2024

This is why, challenging the front-runners in 2025 looks unrealistic as well. However, the F1 grid could witness a massive shake-up after the engine regulation changes of 2026. Mercedes, who nailed the previous engine regulation changes introduced in 2014 (the turbo-hybrid era), could repeat history if they played their cards right.

Hamilton won’t be at the team, as he trusts Ferrari to help him achieve his late-career goals. As a result, for team principal Toto Wolff, another headache would be to search for a replacement for the seven-time world champion.