F1 – Over more than 15 years, Bahrain has drafted through its sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat one of the most significant success stories in investing in the global automotive industry.
What began as a partial stake in the British McLaren Group evolved into full ownership, a move officially announced in March 2024. This step not only altered the company’s ownership structure but also reshaped the future of one of the world’s most iconic sports brands, while firmly establishing the kingdom’s presence in advanced technology and engineering sectors.
International reports described the move as a “strategic re-engineering” that reshaped the company’s governance and provided it with a more stable financial trajectory, supported by long-term investment flows capable of funding technological development.
In an economic analysis published by Forbes, specialist journalist Justin Birnbaum noted that in 2019 McLaren’s team was valued at $620 million, based on revenues of $165m in the previous year. Six years later, the value of the McLaren Formula 1 team is estimated to have increased nearly sevenfold, reaching $4.4 billion and ranking third on the grid.
This growth came as revenues rose to $614m in 2024, while the team’s operating profit climbed to $61m under a new era of financial discipline driven by the cost cap imposed by the championship in 2021 to curb spending in several areas related to race car research and development.
The UK’s Financial Times also highlighted, in an economic analysis, the major transformation McLaren Racing has undergone in recent years amid ownership restructuring and the entry of Middle Eastern investors, including Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat.
The newspaper noted that this valuation represents a significant leap compared to 2020, when McLaren was valued at around £560m, a period during which the company faced severe financial pressure due to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and declining revenues.
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