Ferrari will be paid much more than any other Formula One team this year despite finishing runners-up to world champions Mercedes last season
Autosport.com, which said it obtained projected payment details at least weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, said Ferrari was in line to receive $192 million — a 17 percent increase on 2015. The figures have not been published by Formula One Management.
The Italian glamour team, the only ones to have been in the championship since it started in 1950 and the most successful, are alone in getting $70 million as a reward for their long-standing contribution. Mercedes, winners of both constructor and driver championships for the past two seasons and of 34 of the past 40 races, will get $171 million and third-placed Williams a mere $87 million. Red Bull, fourth in 2015, can expect $144 million thanks to two other significant negotiated payments of $35 million and $39 million — the latter a constructors’ championship bonus for their four successive titles between 2010 and 2013. The figures indicated that McLaren, who endured their worst season in 2015 and finished ninth overall, will still receive $82 million thanks to a $32 million constructors’ bonus.
In contrast, struggling Sauber finished eighth but get ‘only’ $54 million. Force India, who achieved the team’s best ever championship finish of fifth, also get less than McLaren even if their $67 million represents a 12 percent gain on 2014. Co-owned by Indian beer baron Vijay Mallya, Force India have complained with Sauber to the European competition authorities about the sport’s governance and distribution of revenues
The revenues are gathered from race hosting fees, media rights, trackside sponsorship and hospitality. Autosport said the 2015 total due to the 10 teams was $965 million, nine percent up on the previous year.
Autosport said Formula One Management (FOM) had estimated turnover of $1.9 billion in 2015, with underlying revenues of $1.4 billion.
Commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone told reporters in Bahrain that FOM would “pay the teams collectively, at the end of this year, very close to a billion dollars.
“If I was a promoter of pop concerts, I think I’d want a much better performance from the performers than we are getting from the people we are paying the billion dollars to,” he added when it was pointed out that the team getting the biggest share were not even winning.
In other F1 news
FIA investigating Ferrari coded message
F1’s governing body is looking into whether Ferrari stretched the new radio clampdown rules, according to a report in Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport. While the new rules severely limit what can be said on the radio, the FIA’s Charlie Whiting said in Melbourne that they also apply to dashboard displays and pit boards.
“We do have a camera looking at all the pit boards, so if we see anything unusual we will ask why,” he said.
Auto Motor und Sport claimed on Wednesday that a rival team has shown the FIA a photo of a Ferrari pit board in Bahrain displaying the message “3.2-LFS6-P1”.
The report said the FIA is now looking into the matter.
HAAS to bring development upgrades to China
Günther Steiner, Team Principal of Haas quoted as saying “We must learn at first the maximum, especially as the potential seems important. To us to operate correctly. Developments are planned for China , but for the moment we have no plans to change race by race. ”
Lawyer denies claims that Rosberg is evading tax
Nico Rosberg’s lawyer has denied claims the Mercedes driver is evading tax. The 2016 championship leader’s name was mentioned among the millions of leaked financial documents known globally as the ‘Panama Papers’, amid suggestions countless prominent people are hiding wealth and evading tax.
German reports alleged that the documents, originating from a Panama law firm called Mossack Fonseca, showed that Rosberg’s contract with Mercedes is via a British Virgin Islands-based ‘letterbox company’ called Ambitious Group Limited.
“Contrary to some reports,” Rosberg’s Berlin lawyer Christian Schertz said, “our client has no letterbox company in Panama. It is true that a letterbox for Nico Rosberg was established in the British Virgin Islands by the firm Mossack Fonseca,” he added.
But Rosberg’s lawyer denies this has anything to do with tax. “The sole reason for this was legal liability issues and the ability to act internationally,” said Schertz. “This facility has nothing to do with tax,” he added, insisting Rosberg has always “behaved fiscally correctly in all respects”. “He is domiciled in Monaco and therefore taxable in Monaco,” Schertz insisted. “All compensation that he receives from the (Mercedes) team is therefore taxed directly in Monaco,” he added.
German reports say Mercedes is refusing to comment for reasons of business confidentiality, but the carmaker did say there are “no abnormalities” in the dealings with Rosberg in the area of compliance. (GMM)
Hamilton insists F1 drivers should trust their instincts on the track
‘There is a problem in racing, you have all these driver coaches coming along, mind coaches and it’s all a bunch of c**p.
‘The insecure people think they need those things but they don’t. You just get lost and you don’t need it.’
‘You have to trust yourself. Everyone has their own unique way of doing it.
‘I think people start to look at certain things, that’s not there. All the small, little noises which is not the important stuff.’
The Brit was helped by former McLaren doctor and performance expert Aki Hintsa during his first title success in 2008.
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Bernie and Max discuss modern F1 and where it’s gone wrong in an astonishing interview.
“Lawyer denies…” How credible… Not.
With respect to the last piece, Hamilton is correct imo. It’s quite easy to get twisted up in the minor things – of which there are many – as a racing driver. The way in which Hamilton describes it is accurate. You get simply get lost.
@WTF_F1
*Get + Get = too many gets. Get it? Got it? Good.
How about Grosjean? Crashed into everything left, right and Webber until he consulted a “coach”, and look at him now.
Who “coached” him?
Indeed he did get psychologist assistance back then.
All I can do is speak from my own experience, and what Lewis said resonated with me. Grosjean might be in the ‘for’ column… but I don’t think he was that terrible during his so called “crash” days.
Isn’t it strange that the team payoff figures have popped out there…..?
Wonder what’s going on? Must be some kind of misdirection, surely. Can’t be helping the trolls case at the EU….? Could it?
Autosport and Dieter Rencken are each year proudly divulging payment data, which is at heart confidential data only mentioned in contracts and known to contracting parties. My understanding is that FOM is each year very unhappy this data gets leaked… Also, latest signs from EU is that the Commission is investigating whether… it should be investigating. Fun times with the wheels of justice.
In other news, remember when RB was the team to quit FOTA and signed the first bilateral agreement with the dwarf (driving stake through the traditional Concorde agreement)? Apparently they got, legally, a yearly 35m payment for the trouble… Yeah, the Spice Boys “for the good of the sport”…
So let me get this straight, Ferrari gets more money and Sauber goes bust (?), leaving Ferrari with one less engine customer to give them money…the irony.
Biggest travesty here is that Red Bull gets significantly more than Williams.
Sauber are their own worst enemy when it comes to, well, just about everything.
What have Williams done for us lately, besides relentlessly underperform with zero credible excuse?
they keep the dream of a credible midfield win alive. Barely…. and with The PASTOR’s money all gone looks like their performance is dropping accordingly
Well when you get tired of listening to Symonds they’ve provided Smedley as back up…….:-)
Re Ferrari:
That $70m payment to Ferrari has got to stop, it’s ridiculous that a team can finish 4th in the standings ends up getting paid more than everyone ahead of them.
Historical payments should be scrapped altogether as well, if you don’t want to participate, then leave, I’ve not time for sentimentality.
Re Hamilton’s comment….
Trolling award of the year has to go to that fish n chip paper.
This formula one teams payments subject has been visited one thousand and one times, In my book it’s called beating about the bush wasting time and space expressing oneself.
The only way forward is to go str82dpoint, in short for the good of F1 Bernie must go, as long as he remains, one and all concerned including those complaining and shedding crocodile tears can only play ball not only by his rules of the game and in his playing field but only playing “HIS” game using “HIS” ball.
Can we add the vile parasitic CVC to the ‘must go’ list? Their contribution to the sport is well into negative territory and if they go, Lord Bernie of Ecclescake is finished. Job done…
CVC’S F1 doings is managed by Bernie, what he says goes.
Pretty much the only way to ‘ged rid of’ CVC is for the 100 yeardeal to be declared void. Maybe the EU will do it but maybe they wont. If the contract goes, the FIA whoild be seriously compromised and in their present form they might have to go too. Trouble is the EU might not survive long enough to perform this useful task.
I disagree Fortis. For me, Ferrari, are a huge part of the attraction of F1, the same applies for McLaren and Williams to some extent. Those teams have helped develop the sport, as such they do deserve to be compensated for that. They have made long term commitments to Formula One, in my eyes that certainly merits some kind of payback.
By removing that sort of payment paves the way for the F1 equivalents of Chelsea, Man City, PSG, teams coming in throwing a load of money at it, winning a few times then disappearing off, leaving the sport little in the way of heritage.
The presence of Ferrari especially is near essential for F1 in my opinion.
Look at how well the Stones are performing even on this day. So they should be paid. Bernie himself admits F1 is nothing without the Scuderia.
Pit board…ffs!! It’s not a radio communication so what’s the problem.The teams need to relay information to the drivers,this has been done since the very first race. I swear that during Spartacus I saw a board saying ‘+3 bigust dickas mixture 12 box in’ and as for the dash display,its bloody needed. If I was driving I would have a progam of commands loaded up on the computer to talk me through the race,its the 21st century chaps so use what we have.
+1
And the sooner they allow proper autopilot technology the better off the sport will be.
When the FOM troglodytes sort this rubbish out you can guarantee Google and Tesla will be keen on starting teams given their investment in self-driving cars. The sky’s the limit!
“3.2-LFS6-P1”.
3.2s to Rosberg, Lewis Found Speed, 6s behind you, go for P1!
Odds are 3 to 2 that you will win, Lap at Full Speed, go for P1!
Someone must be able to decipher that stuff?
Ferrari was cleared as the message addressed a problem they were having with SECU. Basically fuel calcs post red flag and in a development no one saw coming, CW admitted that the red flag threw up some “glitches” in the new, stricter version of the radio regs. From AS article.
But when Hamilton radioed in asking how to switch off an alarm, was told they couldn’t tell him. Does an alarm going off in the car not signals there’s something wrong, which would fall under the rule of them being able to give advice because of a critical issue?
He was left to figure it out himself. So why couldn’t Seb have been left to do the same?
messages on steering wheel are also not allowed. question is now over “text message to Lulu’s steering wheel” see video of Lulu’s car during Bahrain GP just after an upshift from 4th gear.
(radio ban: FERRARI absolved, merc’s menu up formula1 blog)