How can that be? The labyrinthine way in which Formula One is structured makes
it difficult to know exactly who gets what, but what is not in doubt is that
there has never been an equitable division of the spoils.
The new commercial pact signed between the teams and Ecclestone gives teams 63
per cent of the profits – $751.8 million (£468 million) last year – but it
is estimated that 60 per cent of that money goes to the top five teams, with
the next five sharing the other 40 per cent. Marussia, who finished 11th
last year, only recently agreed a deal with Ecclestone and currently have no
share of the revenues.
Set against the teams’ profits are costs which are set to rise sharply next
year with the move to new turbo-charged V6 engines. Toro
Rosso team principal Franz Tost estimates that the move will cost
independent teams an extra $15 million-$20 million (£9.3 million to £12.4
million).
The decision to host two tests out in Bahrain prior to the start of next
season, and the return of in-season testing, will put a further strain on
resources. Andy Stevenson, Force
India’s team manager, estimated in Korea last weekend that it would
cost his team a total of $8 million (£5 million) to attend all four
pre-season tests. Stevenson warned that his team would not be able to attend
them all as the plans currently stood.
The trend towards increased costs is being felt everywhere, with many race
promoters now looking to cut their hosting fees with Ecclestone. They have
also had to look at other ways of making up the shortfall.
Figures seen by Telegraph Sport reveal that an average “flyaway” race
now costs each team around $300,000 (£187,000). This is to hire hospitality
units, forklift trucks, fridges and so on.
Some venues have increased the amount they charge for these facilities by 100
per cent in the last few years, although costs vary wildly. In 2012 Brazil
charged the least for a hospitality unit at $7,500 (£4,660) with Abu Dhabi
the most expensive at $55,000 (£34,000). A fridge in India cost $2,000
(£1,200) to hire in 2012.
“It is just another burden for the small teams to carry,” said one team
source. “We are effectively paying a tax on racing by footing the bill for
all of these extras. It is like a football team turning up at Old Trafford
for a match against Manchester United and discovering they have to pay for
the changing rooms, the hot water and the soap. It is ridiculous.”
McLaren
team principal Martin Whitmarsh, chairman of the Formula One Teams’
Association, admitted recently that the issue of rising costs was extremely
serious.
“We’re not in a crisis yet, but we have to be very careful that we do not wait
for a crisis,” Whitmarsh said. “I don’t believe we’ve done enough to control
costs in the sport and we do need these [independent] teams to be in the
sport and to be competitive. We’ve made some mistakes with the introduction
of the new powertrains. I think the sport may well pay the price for that in
the next 18 months.”
Whitmarsh is understandably worried. The last time costs became such an issue,
in 2009, the sport lost BMW, Toyota, Honda and Renault.
They were replaced by smaller teams and investors, some of whom came in on
the promise of a budget cap that never materialised. Those same smaller
teams now face going out of business and no one is lining up to replace
them.
One solution would be to allow ‘customer teams’, with larger outfits supplying
smaller ones with chassis, engines and even drivers. One source said he felt
that had been the intention for some time now.
The debate over customer cars has always split the paddock, with the likes of Ferrari
and Red
Bull favouring the idea and independents such as Williams
vehemently against it.
“Formula One is not about customer cars,” warned Sauber’s
team principal Monisha Kaltenborn. “If you have the kind of dominance that
Red Bull has had this year and customer cars are available, just imagine the
situation with the current points system we have.”
Bernie and the billionaires: Formula One in numbers
$2 billion
Amount CVC has banked from the sport in the past two years alone, reducing its
stake from 63 per cent to 35 per cent in the process.
$1.4bn
F1’s turnover last year, giving an operating profit of $1.18 billion: 63 per
cent of this is shared between the top 10 teams, although not evenly.
$1bn
Amount F1’s largest single shareholder CVC Capital Partners is believed to
have paid for the sport in 2006.
$300 million
Amount the FIA charged to lease the commercial rights to the sport for 100
years back in 2001. A terrible deal in hindsight.
$15-20m
The increased amount it will cost teams next year with the introduction of new
power trains, according to Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost.
$6m
Amount an independent team is estimated to spend per year in air freight
alone. Teams fly between 25 and 35 tonnes to each race.
$8m
Amount Force India estimate it would cost them to attend all four pre-season
tests next year.
$300,000
Average amount it costs each team at ’flyaway’ races to use facilities. The
Indian GP charged $2,000 for use of a fridge last year.