VS Series

McLaren v Williams Racing

Two great British F1 names, at very different points in the race

Williams Racing leads on pre-tax profit, growth and net assets; McLaren on turnover and profit margin. McLaren is the biggest by turnover at £588m, against £244m at Williams Racing. Both lost money; McLaren lost the least, £7.45 of every £100 it took.

The year ends are close enough to compare like for like. Williams Racing files group accounts that include subsidiaries; McLaren files for a single company, which flatters the group on size.

Spark Intel Research Desk·Last updated ·Source: Companies House filed accounts

Accounts compared: McLaren to Dec 2025 · Williams Racing to Dec 2025

Biggest by turnover

McLaren

£588m

Smallest loss

McLaren

-7.5%

Fastest-growing turnover

Williams Racing

+35.7%

Who they are

McLaren

McLaren Racing Limited · 01517478McLaren Racing runs the McLaren Formula 1 team, as well as McLaren's teams in IndyCar, endurance racing and esports.In brief: motor racing team · Formula 1, IndyCar and endurance · sponsorship and prize money · based in WokingFull profile →

Williams Racing

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited · 01297497Williams Racing is a Formula One team that designs and builds its race cars at Grove in Oxfordshire.In brief: Formula One team · based in Grove, Oxfordshire · sponsorship and prize money · owned by Dorilton CapitalFull profile →

The Numbers

MeasureMcLarenMcLaren Racing LimitedWilliams RacingWilliams Grand Prix Engineering Limited
Turnover£588m£244m
Turnover change+20.5%+35.7%
Pre-tax profit-£44m-£20m
Profit margin-7.5%-8.1%
Employees1,2461,151
Pay per head£229,000£93,000
Turnover per head£472,000£212,000
Net assets£46m£99m
Bank and cash£140m£18m
Accounts toDec 2025Dec 2025
BasisSingle companyGroup

The leader on each measure is marked. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).

Category winners

Biggest by turnover

McLaren

£588m

Most pre-tax profit

Williams Racing

-£20m

Smallest loss

McLaren

-7.5%

Fastest-growing turnover

Williams Racing

+35.7%

Biggest employer

McLaren

1,246 staff

Highest pay per head

McLaren

£229,000

Most turnover per head

McLaren

£472,000

Largest net assets

Williams Racing

£99m

Most cash

McLaren

£140m

The Takeaway

  1. McLaren loses the least. Of every £100 it takes, it loses £7.45, against a loss of £8.05 at Williams Racing.
  2. McLaren is the largest on the top line, £588m of turnover, 2.4x Williams Racing's £244m.
  3. Williams Racing is growing fastest, turnover +35.7% on its own prior year.
  4. McLaren is the biggest employer with 1,246 people; McLaren pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £229,000.
  5. Williams Racing has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £99m, while McLaren holds the most cash at £140m.

Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?

Every company here made a loss. McLaren lost the least, £7.45 of every £100 of turnover. Williams Racing does worst, losing £8.05.

Financing bites hardest at McLaren: £2.81 of every £100 goes on interest.

Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.

The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.

Out of every £100 of turnover

£100£0 Payroll: £48.54 of every £100Payroll£48.54Financing: £2.81 of every £100Other costs: £56.11 of every £100Other costs£56.11Loss (the costs beyond £100): £7.45 of every £100Loss £7.45McLarenYear to Dec 2025£588m turnoverPayroll: £44.04 of every £100Payroll£44.04Other costs: £64.01 of every £100Other costs£64.01Loss (the costs beyond £100): £8.05 of every £100Loss £8.05Williams RacingYear to Dec 2025£244m turnover
Payroll (staff costs)Financing (interest paid)Other running costsPre-tax profitLoss: the costs beyond £100

Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.

Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?

By turnover the order is McLaren (£588m), Williams Racing (£244m).

By headcount, McLaren leads with 1,246 employees.

The accounting periods all end in the same month. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.

McLaren£588mWilliams Racing£244m

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

Williams Racing grew fastest, turnover +35.7% on its own prior year, ahead of McLaren (+20.5%).

Williams Racing+35.7%McLaren+20.5%

Turnover change on each company's own prior year

Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?

McLaren employs the most, 1,246 people, against 1,151 at Williams Racing.

McLaren has the highest average staff cost, about £229,000 a head; Williams Racing the lowest, about £93,000.

McLaren brings in the most turnover per employee, about £472,000, against £212,000 at Williams Racing. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.

McLaren

1,246

employees, about £229,000 pay a head, £472,000 turnover a head, +11.0% on the year

Williams Racing

1,151

employees, about £93,000 pay a head, £212,000 turnover a head, +21.3% on the year

Who owns each one?

Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.

McLaren Racing Limited · 01517478

Held by Mclaren Group Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control.

Who owns McLaren →

Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited · 01297497

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control. 1 outstanding charge on the register.

Who owns Williams Racing →

What does the full ledger show?

MeasureMcLarenWilliams Racing
Registered nameMCLAREN RACING LIMITEDWILLIAMS GRAND PRIX ENGINEERING LIMITED
Company number0151747801297497
Incorporated19801977
Accounts filed30 September 202622 September 2026
Turnover, prior year£488m£180m
Pre-tax profit, prior year£34m-£42m
Staff costs£286m£107m
Payroll share of turnover48.5%44.0%
Employees, prior year1,123949
Dividends paidn/dn/d
Charges outstanding01

A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.

McLaren v Williams Racing: common questions

Who is the biggest of McLaren or Williams Racing?

McLaren, with turnover of £588m in the year to December 2025.

Which makes the most profit?

Williams Racing: the smallest loss, -£20m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.

Which employs the most people?

McLaren, with 1,246 employees in its latest accounts.

McLaren or Williams Racing: which is bigger?

McLaren, with turnover of £588m against £244m at Williams Racing on their latest filings. On margin, McLaren keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →

Where do these figures come from?

Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.

Deep dive: what story does McLaren's money tell? →

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