Zak Brown claims that each of the current ten F1 teams is worth "north of £1bn".

The claim comes weeks after F1 officially rejected Andretti's bid to join the grid, McLaren being one of only two teams that publicly supported the American outfit's bid.

There is no doubt that F1 fully reaped the benefits of the pandemic, as people in lockdown around the world found Drive to Survive to be the perfect means to while away the hours.

Also contributing to the sport's rise in prominence was the fact that it was eventually able to scrape together a fairly meaningful calendar, even if the majority of the tracks that were called upon to rescue the series are likely never to be used again.

Boosted by a whole new army of fans, a large majority of whom are female, the sport has seemingly gone from strength to strength, and as the busiest season in F1's 75 year history continues, Brown is confident that things can only get better.

"Half the grid is profitable," he told a Bloomberg event in Jeddah. "They weren't five years ago.

"What Liberty is wanting to do is protect the value of the ten teams that exist," he added. "In the pre-Liberty era you had teams falling away. Now in the Liberty era, there are teams lining up that want to get into the sport. So I think Liberty is just seeing how, when and if they want teams to enter."

Of course, Brown appears to forget that at one point it looked like even McLaren might "fall away", but luckily the Bahrainis were they to provide a much needed financial safety net.

While Brown believes that ten teams is enough, the quality over quantity argument doesn't stretch as far as his belief that the sport could handle more races, and while the current Concorde Agreement limits the number of events each year, in a bid to bring more fee-busting host tracks on board, some of the current events could be rotated.

"If we needed to dial up a few more races, I'd say Asia is an important territory," he said. "If we had more markets to go into, I'd say a race in Asia, India, South Africa. That would really give us a global footprint."

Rather than a sport that had for decades exuded passion, bravery, technological genius and excitement, it actually sound more like he's promoting a hamburger chain.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by BillH, 16/03/2024 22:24

"The individual teams are only worth what someone is willing to pay at the time they are for sale.

I can't for one see how something can be termed an asset if it is not generating a profit.

"Half the grid is profitable" means someone could buy one of those teams and it would add to the correct side of their balance sheet, though there is profitable and there is profitable as profit can be determined in a number of ways i.e. before and after tax, then there is timing of financial results, one off sales etc.

F1 history is littered with former teams, teams with new names and owners and most of this isn't driven by wanting to be profitable but by ego.

"

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2. Posted by Chester, 16/03/2024 9:44

"India and South Africa as new tracks? How did Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, and Korea work out?

Zak is a baloney talker."

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3. Posted by Laps, 16/03/2024 7:28

"It’s little or no coincidence that Zak is making these comments at a time when his shareholders are actively offering The McLaren Group for sale."

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4. Posted by kenji, 16/03/2024 2:18

"@ Simon in Adelaide The analysis of reality. "

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5. Posted by Simon in Adelaide, 15/03/2024 23:46

"Ah the economics of an egotist.

The owner always over-values their asset or property but in reality something is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it. "

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6. Posted by Dirt, 15/03/2024 16:04

"@kenji:

<cynicism>

If the right people express an unverified position often enough, the position becomes the accepted norm. Proof is irrelevant, repetition by figures of authority is key.

</cynicism>"

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7. Posted by kenji, 15/03/2024 13:32

"Would love to know the basis for making that evaluation. Assuming that the he's correct then the lowest team would be the starter at 1B Sterling then they move upwards. Sounds quite ridiculous to me without any supporting evidence."

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All teams worth "north of £1bn", claims Brown

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