Despite being one of the most successful teams in F1 history, McLaren Racing could be up for sale due to the extreme financial drawbacks they have been facing. According to Business F1, the British team might be listed for $1,000,000,000 and could be the first F1 team to go for sale.
The British automaker has been in a financial soup for the last couple of years, and its effect has directly fallen on its Formula 1 team. And now, as things stands, they are on their way to putting their team on sale after spending 57 years in the sport with the availability of big buyers.
Following a faulty business model and imperfect board room decision on McLaren track 25, the British giants suffered heavy financial losses during the latter half of the 2010s. The loss multiplied further with the arrival of COVID-19. However, according to PlanetF1, the Papayas registered a net profit of $127 million after Zak Brown took charge as CEO.
McLaren is ready to take the ultimate solution to save themselves
After a recent boost in the sport’s popularity, big buyers and investors have taken an active interest in F1. The recent investment by a Ryan Reynolds-led consortium in Alpine is a bright example of that. And interestingly, after the $218 million investment, the French team is now worth $900 million, as per Forbes.
Therefore, it will not be surprising if McLaren Group, which owns 70% of McLaren Racing decides to sell off its shares to raise cash when the need is extreme. As per Business F1, the 70% stake could be worth around $1 billion now and could be sufficient to run the team for a decent amount of time.
McLaren now in profit again after £100m losses when Zak Brown arrived #F1 #McLaren pic.twitter.com/mI4XDgJ140
— Blaise Bradshaw (@bradshaw877) December 21, 2022
However, the other 30% is owned by MSP Capital and they reserve the rights of pre-emption, which could be restrictive. Notably, the McLaren Group has recently been making a profit and recorded $1.25 billion in sales. Now, this means that their 70% could also be worth $900 million.
McLaren’s 2023 F1 season progress
Despite having huge financial trouble, the McLaren F1 team has improved significantly. The team that started the season from a very low position, has now come up to contest for wins against Red Bull.
However, the Woking-based outfit still needs to go through testing times, with their rivals still having somewhat of an advantage over them. For now, they are in P5 in the Constructors’ championship and are quite a long way behind Ferrari in P4.
As things stand, Zak Brown and Co. promised to make the team a championship-worthy outfit in the years to come. The amount of progress they show after the summer break will set a trajectory for their ambitions in the upcoming campaign.
