Antonelli victory rare win for Manchester United owner Ratcliffe and Ineos

Tuesday 03 November 2026 5:00 am | Updated: Monday 02 November 2026 1:47 pm

Somewhere, probably in Monaco, one Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be breathing a sigh of relief.

Because the billionaire, who is chief executive of petrochemicals giant Ineos, has finally broken a run of winlessness in sport. The 74-year-old on Sunday saw Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli become the youngest ever world champion, driving for a team which is one third owned by the Briton estimated to be worth £15bn.

It breaks a barren run for Ratcliffe’s empire, which has spanned racing, football, rugby union, sailing and cycling, but may also demonstrate a new facet of a disturbing pattern. Because Ineos teams either don’t win at the highest level, or win in the early days of involvement before falling into decline until, in Mercedes’ case, a win five years on.

The Formula 1 team’s deputy team principal Bradley Lord tells City AM that “Ineos have been incredible partners for the team”, adding that “they empower the team to go out and race and win and perform on track”.

Lord adds: “If we can reward that financial and sporting commitment and with success this season, I think we’ll all be delighted to do that.”

Three daily briefings with the key market moves and top business and political stories.

Antonelli’s win comes in the sixth season of Ineos involvement at ownership level in Mercedes, a team that earlier this year was valued at $6bn. He had early success – a 2020 December injection was followed by a team title for the Silver Arrows in 2021 – but nothing, until now, since.

That instant success and subsequent blip isn’t unique to the Formula 1 team. When Ratcliffe became a minority investor in Manchester United – a deal completed in February 2024 – he saw instant success in the form of an FA Cup. But three managers later there has been little else to celebrate.

And in cycling, instant Grand Tour success followed investment in 2019. An Egan Bernal Tour de France win in the same year and Giro d’Italia victories in the following two seasons have preceded an era of decline for the Ineos Grenadiers, culminating in top rider Tom Pidcock leaving the team in 2024, having terminated his contract three years early.

Less than amicable exits aren’t new, though. The Ineos association with the America’s Cup, which saw a British boat reach the finals for the first time in 60 years before being crushed by eventual winners New Zealand, came to an abrupt end too. There is now a court battle with former partner Sir Ben Ainslie.

The New Zealand Rugby Union threatened legal action against Ineos over a sponsorship deal which, in the end, was terminated two years early. Tottenham Hotspur also filed against Ineos in 2025 over a sponsorship deal with the Premier League club.

His continental football clubs – OGC Nice and FC Lausanne-Sport – are among Ratcliffe’s’ earliest sporting investments but neither have won a top flight trophy since, while partner club – and not officially part of the multi-club ownership strategy – Racing Club Abidjan has just one domestic title in Cote d’Ivoire.

The major, groundbreaking success? Eliud Kipchoge’s aided sub-two hour marathon. But that feat, achieved under non-race conditions, was toppled this year in London when both Sebastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha completed the 26.2-mile course in less than two hours, legally.

“We’re lucky to enjoy the most supportive and aligned group of shareholders and owners that you could possibly wish for,” Lord adds.

Ratcliffe will be over the moon that his portfolio has a freshly-minted gold star within it, especially amid the latest crisis at Manchester United. He’ll hope that the Mercedes pattern – where success returns after a blip – can be replicated at some of Ineos’s other major investments. But there’s more to sport than hope.