In Formula 1, the action off the track is often as exciting as the racing on it. Here are 13 figures to know about the massive business behind the world’s most popular motorsport.
With a dominant start by drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, McLaren sewed up Formula 1’s constructors’ championship in October, but the 2025 F1 season featured no shortage of thrills, all the way through Sunday’s finale in Abu Dhabi.
After 24 heart-pounding Grand Prix races—and six sprints—here are 13 eye-popping numbers to know from a historic year that marked the sport’s 75th anniversary.
10
The number of teams that competed in Formula 1 this season—just as it has been since 2019. However, 2026 will see Cadillac joining the grid, after it paid a reported $450 million fee to the ten existing teams and committed hundreds of millions more in startup costs. The arrival of an 11th team is one of several important changes coming to F1 next year.
21
The number of countries that hosted Grand Prix races this year. (Only the United States, with three races, and Italy, with two, had more than one.) In another sign of F1’s global reach, the 21 drivers who entered a race this year were from 14 countries—and although Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda is losing his seat at Red Bull, the nationality count will rise to 15 next season as the grid gains Finland’s Valtteri Bottas and Mexico’s Sergio Pérez at Cadillac.
500%
The approximate appreciation of McLaren Racing over the last five years, from the time that MSP Sports Capital bought a minority stake at a $750 million valuation in December 2020 to a deal in September 2025 in which MSP cashed out at a roughly $4.5 billion valuation. With CEO Zak Brown bolstering McLaren’s sponsorships and, as a back-to-back constructors’ champion, plenty of success on the track, the team has staved off financial ruin and become one of F1’s most profitable teams.
1.3 million
The average number of American viewers of Formula 1 races across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC this season through the penultimate race in Qatar. The figure was set to break 2022’s record of 1.2 million. Next year, F1 races will leave the Disney networks for Apple TV, starting a five-year U.S. media rights deal that will reportedly pay about $140 million per year on average, up from about $85 million under the current agreement.
$57.5 million
The amount that McLaren’s Lando Norris earned on the track in 2025, according to Forbes estimates. Winning the drivers’ championship came with an estimated $10 million bonus, but the 26-year-old Brit finished just third in the financial standings this year.
To The Victor: McLaren’s Lando Norris earned an estimated $10 million bonus for winning the drivers’ championship.
Bryn Lennon/Formula 1/Getty Images
$76 million
The amount that Red Bull’s Max Verstappen earned on the track this season to lead the grid, according to Forbes estimates, topping Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton at $70.5 million. In his first year with Ferrari, after 12 seasons with Mercedes, Hamilton got an estimated $15 million raise with his salary, to an F1-record $70 million. The two drivers have led the earnings race in each of the five years that Forbes has published a Formula 1 ranking.
$105 million
The reported value of the severance deal that Christian Horner received after he was fired as Red Bull’s team principal in July. The 52-year-old Englishman, who had served in the role since 2005, led the team to six constructors’ championships and eight drivers’ titles and became a star of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive.
$170 million
The approximate level of spending allowed under this season’s cost cap (counting both the $135 million baseline and adjustments made for inflation and the number of races on the calendar). The system, which restricts teams’ budgets in several areas related to racecar design and construction, was implemented in 2021 and has fundamentally changed F1’s economics, giving teams a realistic path to profitability. Next season, the cap is set to rise to $215 million to accommodate additional development costs as Formula 1 overhauls the technical regulations around its cars.
$630 million
The global box office total of Apple’s F1 movie, which starred Brad Pitt and was released in June. Thanks to producer David Leener, the movie brought in at least another $40 million strictly from product placement and in-movie sponsorships, including the company logos on Pitt’s fire suit.
827 million
The size of Formula 1’s global fan base, according to the series, up 12% year-over-year and 63% since 2018. The popularity was evident in July at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where attendance reached 500,000 for the full race weekend—a record for the event and among the highest totals for an F1 race ever.
$1.5 billion
The value of Haas, according to Forbes estimates, setting the floor among Formula 1’s ten current teams. Two years ago, only four organizations cleared that threshold, and the average F1 valuation is now $3.6 billion, soaring 89% since 2023.
$2.5 billion
The estimated net worth of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who recently sold a minority stake to billionaire CrowdStrike cofounder George Kurtz at a roughly $6 billion valuation. With $799 million in 2024 revenue, Mercedes ranked tenth among the world’s sports teams during the equivalent season.
$6.5 billion
The value of Ferrari, leading all Formula 1 teams, according to Forbes estimates. The Prancing Horse now outpaces 15 franchises from the NFL, 25 from the NBA, 28 from MLB and all 32 in the NHL, as well as every European soccer club besides Real Madrid and Manchester United.
More From Forbes
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2025/12/09/a-76-million-driver-and-a-65-billion-team-f1s-2025-season-by-the-numbers/
