Williams may have successfully completed their high-profile signing of Carlos Sainz but it will come at a cost. Since the Spaniard finished an outstanding fifth in the championship last season with Ferrari, scoring 290 points, Williams will have to pay approximately $700,000 for his super license.
Veteran photojournalist Kym Illman revealed that Williams will pay a fee of €682,066 ($701,402), which is an increase of €251,666 ($258,800) that Ferrari paid last season to renew Sainz’s super license. The reason that the cost of the 30-year-old’s super license fee has increased is that he scored 90 more points last year compared to 2023.
No joke, Williams are going to pay more for Carlos’s 2025 super license than they have probably paid for driver license fees in the last 5 years combined. [EDIT: 9 Years] pic.twitter.com/gcS2ZSD0Vh
— Lynne (@theF155) December 10, 2024
In stark contrast, Williams will only pay €39,203 ($40,314) for Albon’s super license, a substantial decrease of €27,897 ($28,687) from a year ago. This is because the Thai driver managed to score only 12 points relative to his 27-point haul in 2023.
While Williams will have to shell out a lot more money because of signing Sainz, Ferrari will be a slight beneficiary. The Italian outfit will have to pay €527,103 ($542,046) as Lewis Hamilton’s super license fee, as the Briton finished 67 points behind the Spaniard in 2024.
However, when it comes to the Constructors’ entry fee, Ferrari will have to pay for all the good work Sainz did for them. With them scoring 652 points, they will need to pay a staggering $5,113,151, per RacingNews365.
It may seem strange that the teams have to pay such a hefty fee in order to allow their drivers to compete since they are the ones who put up a show for the fans. However, there is a good reason why the FIA charges the teams.
Why does the FIA charge teams for the drivers’ super license fees?
The FIA is the motorsports governing body that oversees F1 and several other forms of motorsport. In order to carry out their day-to-day functioning, they charge all drivers an amount as their super license fees. The teams need to bear these payments as drivers don’t get any prize money for winning the championship or finishing in the top three as such.
Other than paying the officials their wages, the FIA also needs a huge amount of money to improve safety, which is where the fees from these super license renewals are used.
Some of the measures that the FIA may take over the course of an F1 season are to repair the barriers after driver crashes, modify the circuits to prevent any risky turns, or come up with new helmet designs that may improve safety.
Another key reason why the FIA charges for drivers’ super licenses is to prevent teams from signing potentially dangerous drivers. Illman revealed in his video that to date, only one driver — Yuji Ide — to date has had his super license revoked after his repeated crashes in the 2006 season.
