Between Mercedes and Ferrari in the Formula 1 finale in Abu Dhabi it wasn’t just about the prestigious second place, but also a lot of money. The exact distribution of the prize money pot is kept confidential. But now the first numbers are circulating that could point in the right direction.
Year after year, the ten Formula 1 teams not only fight for race victories, but also for much-needed money. This is the only way the racing teams can ensure the development of their next cars and be competitive.
The basis for the payment of prize money is the constructors’ championship, which Red Bull won by a large margin this year six races before the end. But behind that, the battle for further placings was exciting until the end. Mercedes and Ferrari dueled for the runner-up title, Aston Martin and McLaren fought for fourth place and Williams, AlphaTauri, Alfa Romeo and Haas also had to make up one or two places.
The amount of income depends not only on the final position but also on the amount of the pot, which is 50 percent of the profit from the commercial rights of Formula 1. However, once a certain revenue volume is reached, the share for the teams is lower, as “motorsport.com” has now found out. In 2022, only 45 percent was distributed to the teams.
The gap in Formula 1 is immense
Another factor in calculating the prize money are bonus payments that the teams have secured thanks to their historical importance or their past successes. Ferrari receives an additional payment of 5 percent of the prize money because the racing team has competed in Formula 1 every year since it was founded. Other teams get more money by winning the constructors’ championship, according to “motorsport.com”.
The specialist portal therefore calculates as follows for 2023: Since Formula 1’s income has increased by up to ten percent, the prize money pot after deducting possible bonus payments of 25 percent is around 1 billion US dollars.
Red Bull will receive an estimated $140 million in first place, while Mercedes can look forward to $131 million. Ferrari received nine million US dollars less for finishing third – a big difference considering they only had five points in the final standings. McLaren ($113 million) and Aston Martin ($104 million) are also estimated to receive prize money in the hundreds of millions.
The estimated prize money for Haas shows how big the gap is in Formula 1. The US team takes last place and goes into the next season with just $60 million.