Two F1 teams featured in the top 50 for the 2025 season, but the most valuable franchise in the series was only the 26th most valuable in all of global sport this year
Ferrari and Mercedes are the only two teams to feature in Forbes’ top-50 most valuable sports teams list for 2025, with McLaren and Red Bull both omitted altogether, despite the former sweeping the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championship titles.
Ferrari were ranked 26th in Forbes’ annual list after the arrival of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, tying with the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL franchise at a valuation of $6.5 billion (£4.9bn). Mercedes, meanwhile, tied with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Chargers for 34th on the list with a valuation of $6bn (£4.5bn), jumping into the top 50 after missing out in 2024.
McLaren and Red Bull, meanwhile, were absent altogether, and there was also no place for Aston Martin, despite a significant recruitment drive and a raft of new global sponsors under the ownership of Lawrence Stroll.
Forbes’ 2025 list was dominated by American sports franchises – more specifically, those from the NFL – with the Dallas Cowboys topping the list at an eye-watering $13bn (£9.7bn). While their dynasty days may be over, the Golden State Warriors ranked second, while the Los Angeles Rams were third on the list.
In other sports, the New York Yankees were the most valuable MLB franchise, while Real Madrid was the highest-ranked football club. Manchester United and Liverpool both represented the Premier League in the top 50.
While McLaren were absent from the top 50, Zak Brown will have aspirations of joining rivals Ferrari and Mercedes in the coming years. The Woking-based squad have progressed from midfield dwellers to one of the sport’s most prominent brands under the American executive’s tenure, winning each of the last two Constructors’ Championship titles.
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The upcoming technical regulations will offer other teams an opportunity to launch to the front end of the grid and increase their valuations. McLaren, though, are confident that they can remain competitive at the start of the 2026 season.
“The technical team at McLaren is particularly strong, we can benefit from the contribution of Peter Prodromou, Rob Marshall, Neil Houldley, Giuseppe Pesce, Mark Temple,” team principal Andrea Stella said. “I think from this point of view, this is one of the strongest technical department that I could have been part in my career, 26 years in Formula One.
“And this means that while the specifics of the current regulations will not necessarily apply on to the future, the working way, the standards, the approach to the development of the car, to the objectives from a technical point of view, they do carry into the future. And this makes us optimistic for the 2026 season.”
