Formula 1 earned a whopping $3.6 billion in revenue last season, out of which the 10 teams shared $1.26 billion among themselves. Each team receives a portion of the prize money based on where they finish in the championship.
So, the team finishing first gets the highest share of the pie and vice versa. However, there are also other bonuses that different teams receive and this may increase their earnings more than another even if they finish lower in the standings.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, veteran photojournalist Kym Illman broke down the payout each team received last year.
Red Bull received a higher payout than champions McLaren despite finishing third in the standings.
The Milton-Keynes-based outfit took home a handsome $182.4 million, $54 million more than McLaren.
: $3.65bn
: $287mFormula 1 generated $3.65bn in revenue for 2024, up $430m from 2023, driven by growth across race promotion, media rights, and sponsorship.
The #F1 calendar expanded to 24 races, boosting race promotion income,… pic.twitter.com/v7zUlPEDkj
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Red Bull received a higher payout because the prize pool distribution isn’t just based on the Constructors’ championship standings. Illman explained that in addition to the standings, the prize pool distribution is calculated based on several other factors.
Teams get handed out a Past Performance Bonus (PPM) as well as bonuses for winning championships in the past. The PPM payment is dictated by a team’s top three finish in the standings in the last 10 seasons.
Red Bull have finished in the top three nine times in the last 10 years (winning two Constructors’ titles in 2022 and 2023). McLaren, on the other hand, only managed two top 3 finishes in 2019 and last season. In fact, McLaren finished behind the likes of Mercedes as well when it came to the payout.
Meanwhile, Ferrari received the highest payout ($222 million) thanks to their added historical bonus in the Concorde agreement for being the longest-standing Constructor on the grid. Last season, this saw them earn a staggering $65.6 million alone from that clause.
Prize money differs immensely for the lower-placed teams
Illman went on to reveal the staggering difference in prize money distribution between the lower-placed teams on the grid and how just one race can change the fortunes of these sides. Alpine is the perfect example of this.
Their double podium finish at the 2024 Brazilian GP and strong results to finish the season saw them jump multiple teams and finish sixth in the standings. This earned them a total of $107 million as compared to $101.3 million for Williams, $83.8 million for RB, $74.2 million for Sauber, and $64.6 million for Haas.
