$20 Million Loss Prevents Racing Bulls to Do Tests Like Other Teams, Reveals Peter Bayer

F1 Grand Prix Of Abu Dhabi Peter Bayer, CEO of Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, poses for a portrait during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on December 5, 2024

The 2024 season started on an optimistic note for Red Bull’s sister team RB as the Faenza-based outfit had a strong hold in the Constructors’ standings with a P6 finish strongly in sight. However, the late-season resurgence of the likes of Haas and mainly Alpine resulted in RB finishing only P8 after the season finale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

According to RB CEO Peter Bayer, they took a staggering $20 million prize money hit owing to this. “The difference from P6 to P7 is about 10 million dollars and the difference from P7 to P8 is also about 10 million dollars,” he told RacingNews365.

This has left the team without enough finances to even conduct pre-season tests under the new Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) regulations. “We haven’t really been able to do that yet, mainly for financial reasons. These kinds of perks are simply hindered by the loss of prize money,” Bayer added.

While RB has conducted tests, they haven’t been as extensive as Bayer would have liked it to be. He cited the example of Mercedes who have fielded Andrea Kimi Antonelli in several tests across the off-season. The likes of RB, with their limited budget, just cannot compete on those terms.

Naturally, the performance of a team in the preceding season is very important for its future as well. RB is the perfect example of how much a drop in performance and prize money can impact the team’s readiness for the upcoming season.

RB employees fail to get their bonuses after team’s P8 finish

The driver’s preparedness isn’t the only department that was left lacking after RB’s drop in the standings last season. Bayer revealed that the team’s employees also did not receive their bonuses because of the loss of prize money.

“We are like any other team. We use a concept of a fixed salary plus bonuses for our staff. This [the loss of prize money] is therefore felt by everyone. These people love their work, also give up a lot for it and so we hope we can give something back to them,” he said.

That said, RB would be looking to be more competitive in 2025 with their driver line-up of Yuki Tsunoda and F2 graduate Isack Hadjar. But it might prove to be a tall order given how competitive the field was at the end of last season.

The sport is now moving into the last year of the current regulation set and it is expected that the teams will start off in terms of performance where they left off in Abu Dhabi. Naturally, with a focus also moving on 2026 soon, RB will have to decide where their priorities lie this season.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Peter Bayer RB

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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