Mercedes F1 achieved a record 2024: revenue rose to £636 million despite fourth place in the championship
Mercedes' works Formula 1 team closed 2024 with one of the strongest financial results in its history, although its sporting performance was not at the level of the period in which the team dominated the championship. According to the financial statements of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd., published in the British register Companies House, revenue in the year ended 31 December 2024 reached £636.025 million. Profit before tax amounted to £163.046 million, or approximately $223 million depending on the exchange rate. After tax, the company reported £120.344 million in profit, a significant increase compared with the previous year. Such figures confirm that the value and earning power of top F1 teams are no longer measured only by championship titles, but also by the ability to turn global visibility into sponsorship, licensing and commercial revenue.
The financial result stands out in particular because Mercedes finished only fourth in the constructors' standings in 2024. Official Formula 1 results show that McLaren won the title with 666 points, ahead of Ferrari with 652 and Red Bull Racing with 589 points, while Mercedes finished fourth with 468 points. The Brackley-based team nevertheless achieved four victories, five additional podiums and four pole positions, which its report described as a noticeable improvement in key performance indicators. George Russell finished the season sixth in the drivers' standings with 245 points, and Lewis Hamilton seventh with 223 points. For Hamilton, this was his final season with Mercedes, after Mercedes and Ferrari confirmed at the beginning of 2024 that the seven-time world champion would join the Maranello team from 2025.
Revenue grew faster than costs, while profit jumped sharply
According to the financial report of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd., revenue in 2024 increased by 16 percent compared with £546.450 million in 2023. At the same time, cost of sales rose from £413.671 million to £448.793 million, meaning that gross profit grew considerably faster than expenses connected with core operations. Gross profit reached £187.232 million, compared with £132.779 million a year earlier. Administrative expenses increased to £26.592 million, but this did not prevent operating profit from rising to £160.640 million. Profit before tax rose from £115.830 million in 2023 to £163.046 million in 2024, showing that the growth in commercial revenue had a direct effect on profitability.
The company paid £42.702 million in corporation tax, and net profit for the financial year amounted to £120.344 million. In 2023, net profit was £83.846 million, so the increase amounted to more than £36 million. The balance sheet also shows a strengthening of the financial position: net assets at the end of 2024 amounted to £206.490 million, compared with £183.493 million a year earlier. Cash at bank and in hand rose to £52.613 million, while the value of the item related to the development of racing cars was reported at £54.344 million. Such a combination of profit, cash and investment in development shows that the team continued to invest in competitive infrastructure despite the limitations of Formula 1's financial regulations.
Sponsorships and licences became a key source of growth
The company's strategic report states that revenue growth primarily came from higher commercial income from sponsorships and licences, which in 2024 accounted for more than 60 percent of total revenue. In doing so, Mercedes made use of Formula 1's global visibility, growing interest in the sport and the fact that the commercial value of a team does not automatically decline with a drop in the constructors' standings. The company also states in the report that its share of television coverage rose to 15.2 percent, which it links to a more competitive season and a larger number of podium finishes. According to Mercedes' own calculation, the cumulative value of advertising exposure for commercial partners and shareholders reached $5.7 billion, eight percent more than in the previous year. This is a marketing indicator, not cash revenue, but it explains why sponsors remain willing to pay high amounts for a presence on the cars, equipment and digital channels of leading F1 teams.
Formula 1 recorded broader commercial growth over the same period. Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1's commercial rights, announced that Formula 1's total revenue in 2024 amounted to $3.411 billion, six percent more than in 2023. According to the same report, payments to teams rose to $1.266 billion, and the growth is connected with overall revenue growth and the model from the 2021 Concorde Agreement. Liberty Media states that Formula 1's primary revenue sources are media rights, race promoter fees and sponsorship revenue, while 2024 had 24 races, two more than 2023. This broader growth of the sport created a more favourable environment for almost all major teams, and Mercedes improved its financial figures even in a year in which it was not in a direct fight for the title.
The sporting result was better than in 2023, but not enough for the top
Mercedes' 2024 season was uneven from a sporting perspective, but it still brought a turnaround compared with 2023, when the team did not achieve a single victory. Official Formula 1 results confirm that George Russell won in Austria and Las Vegas, while Lewis Hamilton triumphed in Great Britain and Belgium. Hamilton's victory at Silverstone was particularly significant because it ended his multi-year wait for a Grand Prix win, while the Belgian triumph came after Russell's disqualification due to a technical irregularity related to the weight of the car. In Las Vegas, Mercedes achieved a one-two finish, Russell ahead of Hamilton, giving the season a strong final sporting highlight. Despite these successes, a lack of consistency during the year left the team behind McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull in the final standings.
In its financial report, Mercedes emphasizes that the 2024 season was highly competitive because the top four teams won races. Such an environment increased the uncertainty of the championship and helped television and media visibility, but at the same time highlighted that the top of Formula 1 had become more even after the period of Red Bull's pronounced dominance. Mercedes, according to its own assessment, improved in reliability, points and performance at certain circuits, but failed to develop a car that would be stable enough from weekend to weekend to fight for the title. This explains the difference between the financial and sporting picture: commercially, the team grew, but competitively it remained in a recovery phase. In that sense, 2024 for Mercedes was not a return to dominance, but proof that the brand and business model can grow even during a results transition.
Hamilton's departure opened a new phase for the team
The season carried additional weight because of the departure of Lewis Hamilton, who ended one of the most successful partnerships in Formula 1 history with Mercedes. Mercedes stated in its own report that Hamilton concluded his 13th and final season with the team in Abu Dhabi, while Formula 1 reported that Hamilton had activated the exit option in his contract and agreed a move to Ferrari from 2025. His departure was not only a sporting change, but also a commercial event, because Hamilton had for years been one of the most globally recognisable figures in motorsport. For Mercedes, this meant the need to preserve sponsorship appeal and continuity of results without the driver who won six of his world titles with the team. The financial result for 2024 shows that the business platform remained strong even in a year in which it was known that the Hamilton and Mercedes era was coming to an end.
The team found a replacement in its own young driver programme. Mercedes officially announced that Andrea Kimi Antonelli would drive alongside George Russell from 2025, opening a new chapter in the driver structure. After Hamilton's departure, Russell took on the role of the more experienced driver within the team, while Antonelli was promoted as a long-term project. Such a decision carries sporting risk because it relies on a young driver just entering Formula 1, but also business logic because the team wants to build a new story around its own development system. In the context of 2024 revenue, it is important that Mercedes enters the transition period with high profit, strong partnerships and room for investment in infrastructure.
Financial rules are changing how teams are valued
Mercedes' profit growth should also be viewed through the changes that have reshaped Formula 1's economics in recent years. The FIA's financial regulations introduce a cost cap for certain categories of team spending, with the aim of reducing the differences between the richest and weaker participants in the championship. These rules do not cover all costs; for example, part of the expenditure on marketing, drivers and some capital projects has special treatment, but they have significantly changed the way resources are managed. Mercedes states in its financial statements that it was in full compliance with the financial regulations after the FIA's review process for the relevant period. Formula 1 subsequently reported that in the FIA review for 2024, no team exceeded the Cost Cap, while the only procedural breach was recorded at Aston Martin and did not involve exceeding the limit.
Such a regulatory framework has increased the attractiveness of F1 teams as business assets. When costs in key competitive areas are limited, and the sport's revenues grow through media rights, sponsorships, race promoters and global distribution, profitability becomes more realistic than in an era of unlimited spending. Mercedes' example shows precisely that shift: the team did not win the title, but it increased revenue, raised operating profit and retained high commercial value. This does not mean that the sporting result has become secondary, because the standings still affect prize payments and negotiating power with partners. But in modern Formula 1, strong infrastructure, a recognisable brand and a stable sponsorship portfolio can soften the consequences of a weaker placing.
Brackley and Applied Science are part of the wider business picture
Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. describes its main activity in the report as operating the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, including the design, development, manufacture, testing and racing of Formula 1 cars. But the company is simultaneously developing activities outside the F1 team itself. The report states that the Applied Science division provides specialised engineering services in technology projects, including in the INEOS Britannia campaign for the 37th edition of the America's Cup. Mercedes also states that technology agreements for 2026 were secured during the year with Williams F1 and Alpine Racing. These projects show that knowledge developed in Formula 1 becomes commercially applicable beyond the race weekend, especially in the areas of aerodynamics, simulations, materials, analytics and rapid product development.
The financial report also mentions the beginning of the redevelopment of the Brackley campus. The company states that major infrastructure work began during 2024, ahead of the planned construction of two new buildings in 2025, with the aim of increasing operational efficiency. In December 2024, the group, according to the same report, acquired Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Ltd. from Mercedes-Benz UK Holdings Ltd. in order to optimise the group structure. Such moves suggest that the record financial year was not only the result of a short-term sponsorship cycle, but also part of a broader reorganisation of the organisation. Mercedes is seeking to retain its competitive base in Brackley, expand the engineering application of its knowledge and prepare for the new Formula 1 technical regulations arriving from 2026.
Record earnings do not remove the pressure of results
Despite the strong numbers, the financial report does not remove the key sporting pressure facing Mercedes. Fourth place in the constructors' standings meant that the team did not fulfil its own objective of fighting for the drivers' and constructors' titles, which the report states as a strategic ambition. In Formula 1, commercial strength can sustain operations, but the long-term value of the best-known teams remains connected with victories, titles and the ability to attract the best drivers, engineers and partners. Mercedes showed in 2024 that it can achieve exceptional profit even in a season without a title fight, but the same figures also highlight how important it is to capitalise on financial stability through better car development. For a team that from 2014 to 2021 set the standard of dominance in the hybrid era, fourth place remains a sporting shortfall, even when business results look record-breaking.
That is why 2024 can be read as a year of divided messages. On the one hand, Mercedes increased revenue, profit and global commercial exposure, and made use of Formula 1's growth as a business platform. On the other hand, the sporting result showed that the team had not yet solved all the technical and operational challenges created after the change in aerodynamic regulations in this era of cars. Hamilton's departure, Antonelli's arrival and the continued development in Brackley make the transition period even more important. Financial strength gives Mercedes the room to carry out that transition steadily, but the final confirmation of success for an F1 team still comes on the track. In the 2024 season, Mercedes proved that it can be exceptionally profitable without dominance, but the next challenge remains to turn business strength into a regular fight for victories and titles.
Sources:
- Companies House – financial statements of Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. for the year ended 31 December 2024. (link)
- Companies House – basic information and filing history for Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd. (link)
- Formula1.com – final constructors' standings in the 2024 season. (link)
- Formula1.com – final drivers' standings in the 2024 season. (link)
- Formula1.com – race results of the 2024 season. (link)
- Liberty Media – financial results of the Formula One Group for 2024. (link)
- Formula1.com – announcement of Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari from 2025. (link)
- Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team – announcement of the Russell-Antonelli driver line-up for 2025. (link)
- Formula1.com – FIA announcement of findings from the 2024 Cost Cap review. (link)