The Mercedes Formula One team has revealed that its revenue last year accelerated 38.5% on 2014 to hit $316.1 million, its highest since the German auto manufacturer bought the outfit from former boss Ross Brawn in 2009.

The rise in revenue was fuelled by increased prize money payments from winning the championship in 2014 and signing a suite of sponsors including clothing company Hugo Boss, printer manufacturer Epson and technology firm Qualcomm.

It comes on the eve of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, where the team is expected to take a third consecutive championship further vindicating Mercedes’ strategy of giving its outfit an entrepreneurial core. Team boss Toto Wolff owns 30% of the outfit with 10% in the hands of non-executive chairman, former F1 champion Niki Lauda, and the remainder held by Mercedes.

The 44 year-old Mr Wolff is not just an experienced businessman but also a former driver which makes him ideally-placed to liaise with the three key divisions which drive an F1 team – commercial, sporting and engineering. Having a single decision-maker in the driving seat gives the team a streamlined reporting structure which has allowed it to operate like a speedboat in the world of F1 where success is down to quick decision-making. As Mr Wolff has a significant stake in the business, he is also incentivised to boost its fortunes. Testimony to this, Mercedes won its first F1 title in 2014, the year after Mr Wolff joined.

“We are in a very fortunate position because our key stakeholders understand our business. They know that if you try and run an F1 team like a corporate multinational, it doesn’t go. You need to be independent, agile and capable of taking quick decisions,” says Mr Wolff.

In contrast, the teams owned by rival manufacturers like BMW, Toyota and Honda were structured more like committees and it didn’t pay off. Toyota invested an estimated $2.1 billion in its F1 team but never won a single race over its eight-year time in the series which came to an abrupt end with the economic downturn in 2009.

Similarly, Honda only won one race as a team owner but had burned up around $1.4 billion by the time it bowed out in 2008. It has since returned to F1 but only as an engine supplier to the McLaren team which is currently languishing in sixth place. It couldn’t be much more of a different story for Mercedes.

In 2014 and 2015 Mercedes took both the teams’ title and won the drivers’ championship with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel and his team-mate Nico Rosberg coming second. But that’s just the start. Last year it notched up 12 one-two victories – a new record in F1 – with its drivers getting on the podium 32 times which was also more than any other pairing had previously achieved.

The team is on track to make history again this year as Mr Rosberg goes into Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix leading the standings ahead of Mr Hamilton by just eight points with his nearest rival, Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo, trailing 86 points behind. These sustained results on track have made Mercedes a magnet for sponsors which in turn has driven its commercial success.

Published Date:2016-10-02