Following a recent stake sale of McLaren Formula 1 team, Bloomberg have estimated that the team is now valued at $4.1billion.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown explained what this sale means for the team and the overall success of F1 in recent years.
Brown reacts to new team ownership
Mumtalakat and CYVN Holdings were previously stakeholders of McLaren group. Now with this new purchase, they own 100% of McLaren Racing.
Zak Brown reacted very positively to the news. He praised the introduction of the cost cap and massive increase in fan interest as key factors of the sport’s recent success.
“The sport is on fire, you know, every metric, demand for teams. It wasn’t long ago that Liberty [Media] acquired the sport and put a cost cap in place, which kind of ensured everyone’s financial stability and on- track stability and competitiveness.“
“So it’s been a wonderful thing. The fans are coming out in the tens 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.”
Has Formula 1 reached its peak in popularity?
Brown was then asked his thoughts on whether the valuation of McLaren meant that F1 was reaching its peak in popularity.
“I don’t think so. I think if you look at sports in general, and I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at all sports by any means, but they’ve only been going north forever. Every time there’s a record deal and whatever sport it is, everyone goes, ‘Oh, that was crazy’.
“And then you look back and in five years, they’ve still gone up. So I think our sport in particular has a lot of room for growth.”
Formula 1 is targeting even higher growth for the future, with the potential introduction of many more sprint races to future race calendars to drive viewership. Brown believes there’s even more room for expansion, sharing his belief that the audience wants more race weekends to be added.
“We have 24 races, we have demand for probably 30 grands prix, so the demand is strong.”
He then shared that the overall competitiveness of the sport and the increased media attention, notably through Netflix, has improved visibility and interest among fans and sponsors.
“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.“
“It’s the first time I’ve seen that in my 30 years of 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.”
