Formula 1 team.
Ratcliffe’s connection to Mercedes began in early 2020, when his firm, Ineos, secured a sponsorship deal with the team. This subsequently developed into Ineos purchasing a third of the shares in the F1 team from Daimler, Mercedes’ parent company, at the end of 2020.
The team is equally owned by Daimler, which has reduced its holding from 60% to 33.3%, Ineos with 33.3%, and team principal Toto Wolff, whose stake has been increased to 33.3%.
The variation is notable in that OxyContin’s maker, Purdue Pharma, also faces a similar number of lawsuits over responsibilities regarding opioid deaths.
While Ratcliffe, valued at approximately $15.8 billion by Forbes, is said to be heavily involved with Manchester United, his position at Mercedes involves much less day-to-day decision-making responsibility.
He holds a position as chairman of Ineos, but does not serve on the Mercedes team’s board, as he is not a board representative for Mercedes. Ineos’s Andy Currie and Jonny Ginns hold non-executive positions, along with Mercedes’ Markus Schafer and Michael Schiebe, while Wolff and his long-time business partner Rene Berger also join the board.
At Mercedes, the structure allows the management team to make the day-to-day business decisions, which means the owner, Ratcliffe, is not directly involved in the running of the team.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Photo by: Daimler AG
Ratcliffe’s attendance at F1 races has been limited since his acquisition, largely due to his being preoccupied in Manchester.
Although he is already the owner of two of the world’s leading sports teams, it seems unlikely that his current situation in football will have a substantial impact on Mercedes’ upcoming Formula 1 season, as it prepares to battle for championships in both disciplines.
Glazer has come under scrutiny for his management of Manchester United. He disenfranchised fans by hiking ticket prices for members to sixty-six pounds and rescinding concessions for children and pensioners.
It comes after he bought a 27.7% share of the Premier League club for £1.3billion in December 2023 and subsequently acquired an additional 1.24% in December.
Since then, he has ceased a fund meant for former players, reduced the staff by 250 people, stripped a former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, of his ambassadorial role, and presided over the unsuccessful tenure of Erik ten Hag, a previous manager.
The club currently stands 13th in the Premier League table, facing subpar facilities at home due to a leaking roof and a persistent mouse infestation at the stadium.
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Photo by: Daimler AG
Ratcliffe has found himself in an unfamiliar and awkward situation, yet one that highlights his other sporting ventures conducted through his company.
Ratcliffe’s involvement with sports has been extensive. Ineos acquired the Swiss football team Lausanne in 2017 and has experienced both relegations and promotions. The company also acquired a stake in the French side Nice in 2019.
Ratcliffe collaborated with Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie in sailing. Although they have not yet won the America’s Cup, they represent the most successful British participant in the competition over the past 60 years. This success can be largely attributed to the support provided by Mercedes in terms of technical expertise.
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In 2019, Ratcliffe acquired the highly successful and dominant Team Sky cycling franchise, which was later rebranded as the Ineos Grenadiers. However, the team has encountered challenges in recent years in competing against its rivals, despite its substantial budget. It has also struggled to lure top cycling talent, considering the team’s impressive resources.
Ineos has a stake in the New Zealand rugby union team and is a sponsor of Eliud Kipchoge, who set a historic record of completing a marathon in under two hours in October 2019 as the first person to do so.
There is no doubt about his success as a businessman, but Ratcliffe’s sports investments are currently under scrutiny. Mercedes’ return to winning form would help ease that pressure to some extent.
