McLaren has completed one of the most impressive turnarounds in sports history.
Less than a decade ago, McLaren’s Formula 1 team had barely any sponsors and little revenue. They were losing tens of millions of dollars each race weekend and were forced to fire hundreds of employees. The team also sold some of its historic cars to raise money and eventually even decided to sell its physical headquarters in England, agreeing to a 20-year leaseback in exchange for $237 million in cash.
It was a disaster, plain and simple. Despite backing from one of the world’s most well-known luxury automakers, McLaren’s Formula 1 team was headed toward bankruptcy. So, to avoid that outcome, the team’s executive committee agreed to sell a 15% minority stake to MSP Sports Capital for an additional $250 million.
Together, these two deals bought the McLaren Formula 1 team more time, which is exactly what CEO Zak Brown needed to execute his turnaround plan. That plan, which coincided perfectly with Formula 1’s growth as a business off the back of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, has completely transformed McLaren Racing.
According to McLaren’s latest financial report, which was filed in the UK this week, McLaren Racing generated $779.6 million in revenue last year. The F1 team now has more sponsors than any other team on the grid. Zak Brown personally took home more than $100 million in salary and bonuses last year, and the team’s valuation has increased from $740 million in 2020 to more than $5 billion today.
But those are just the headline numbers. I spent a few hours yesterday reading through McLaren’s entire 48-page report, and the details are far more interesting than the headline numbers suggest. So for today’s newsletter, I’ve put together a bullet-point-style list of the most interesting things I discovered, including everything from Zak Brown’s record-setting compensation to how much the team spends on private jets, its employee headcount and salaries, and even the specific amount of equity McLaren Racing owns in the company’s new golf business.
Here’s what you need to know:
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McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown earned $107.9 million last year. That includes a base salary of $10.8 million and a long-term incentive plan payout of $97.1 million. This is a massive jump from the $49 million Brown earned the year prior, mostly driven by the team’s 2025 minority-investor buyout, and it makes Brown one of the highest-paid non-drivers in Formula 1 history.
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McLaren Racing generated $779.6 million in revenue last year, up 21% from $643.5 million the year prior. This number includes both McLaren’s Formula 1 team and its IndyCar team, but Formula 1 accounts for more than 90% of the business revenue. The increase was driven by larger sponsorship deals following the team’s championship-winning season, and services, which include sponsorships and prize money, now account for 98% of total revenue.
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