Formula 1 is known for its speed on the track. Off it, the sport’s financial growth has been just as striking.
A new annual analysis of F1 team values estimates that the average team is worth $4.55 billion, a 33% increase from 2025. Excluding Cadillac, which has only just joined the grid, the rise is 39%. Since 2023, average team values have climbed 197%. The NHL, the next-fastest-growing league in that period, is up 85%, followed by the NFL at 81%.
F1’s growth continues
Team values in Formula 1 are rising faster than those in several other major sports, including the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, as well as top global soccer clubs. F1 teams brought in an estimated $5.2 billion in revenue during the 2025 season, or about $523 million each on average. That was a 16% increase over the previous year.
The sport’s expanding international reach is part of the story. The United States now hosts three races each season: the Miami Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix in Austin and the Las Vegas Grand Prix. F1 and the FIA are also looking toward markets such as India and China, whose large populations and manufacturing industries make them attractive prospects.
Ferrari leads the valuations
Ferrari may have to wait another year for a Constructors’ Championship. Mercedes secured the title at the São Paulo Grand Prix, leaving Ferrari’s most recent championship, won in 2008, further in the past.
The team is still leading in another category. Ferrari has topped the F1 valuation rankings for four consecutive years and is now estimated to be worth $8.2 billion, up from $6.4 billion last year. Lewis Hamilton’s arrival for the 2025 season has likely helped bolster the team’s value. Ferrari also ranks among the world’s 30 most valuable sports teams.
Cadillac’s first-year value
Cadillac joined the grid as F1’s 11th team for the 2026 season. It currently sits at the bottom of the Constructors’ standings and is still looking for its first point. It also ranks last among the teams by value, though its estimated worth is about $2.5 billion in its first year.
Joining the grid came at a steep cost. Cadillac paid the other ten teams a $450 million dilution fee and has faced more than $1 billion in startup expenses. The team is projected to lose around $400 million this year and may be at least four years away from becoming profitable.
There has also been reporting that Mark Walter, whose businesses control a majority stake in Cadillac, is considering selling part of his interest.
What the cost cap means
F1 teams remain appealing to investors, in part because their revenues are growing quickly. They are still valued at lower revenue multiples than NFL and NBA teams, though, and the sport’s cost cap may be one reason.
Introduced in 2021, the cap limits spending in areas tied directly to performance, including research and development, car design and the manufacture of new parts. The aim was to improve financial stability and narrow the gap between teams. Some costs are excluded, including driver salaries, pay for a team’s three highest-paid staff members, and spending on legal, finance, marketing and sustainability work.
The cap started at $145 million in 2021, dropped to $140 million the following year and then to $135 million in 2023. It stayed at that level until this season, when it rose to $215 million. The updated rules brought in several costs that had previously been excluded, including depreciation on capital spending, health and safety expenses, and catering at races and team facilities.
The analysis found that seven of the ten established teams made a profit in 2025, with the cost cap helping to contain expenses. McLaren would likely have been profitable too, but a one-off payment of more than $130 million to executives following its 2024 sale process contributed to a $23 million loss. Without that payment, the team’s profit could have exceeded $100 million. Whether the higher cap changes team valuations next year is an open question.
Not everyone in the paddock thinks the cap has improved competition. Williams team principal James Vowles has argued that fewer podiums and points are now going to teams outside the leading group. He also noted that, across roughly 130 races, only one winner has come from outside the top four teams.
Vowles says the leading teams are now more predictable, while the gap between them and the rest has grown. Smaller teams, he argues, are spending heavily just to catch up, which can leave them with less room to improve. In his view, a healthier championship would give more teams a realistic chance of fighting for better positions.
F1 alongside other major leagues
F1’s average team value is estimated at $4.55 billion, placing it behind the NFL and NBA but ahead of MLB, the NHL and several major soccer competitions. That makes the series’ position among the world’s biggest sports leagues notable, especially given how rapidly its team values have risen in recent years.
Whether F1 can narrow the gap with the NFL and NBA remains to be seen. For now, the trend is clear: the sport is growing, and its teams are becoming more valuable.
