Ferrari Is Still F1's Richest Team

Looking purely at racing statistics, it is clear that – over the past two seasons – Red Bull is F1′s most successful team. In fact, Red Bull has won 23 of the last 40 races and 13 of the last 20. It only failed to make the podium in one race in 2011 (Abu Dhabi) and secured both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. Certainly, this would mean that the Bulls get the biggest draw on F1′s pool of prize money as well, right? Wrong.

Even though Red Bull has totally dominated the sport on track, it is Ferrari that hauls away the biggest share from F1′s clandestine “prize fund.” Jonathan Noble at Autosport has reported that – based on its independent sources – Ferrari will collect the first 2.5% of the nearly $700 million in F1 prize money this year. That’s over $17 million to a team that won only one race and finished third in the constructors’ championship. According to Noble, this unique bonus is based on Ferrari’s “unrivaled historical contribution, consistent presence and strength of the brand.”

But that’s just the beginning. Noble also reports that Ferrari will get the largest cut of so-called “Category B” entitlements which are based on “world title winning success.” That amounts to another estimated $16 million. Thus, before it will even start testing again, Ferrari has filled its coffers with over $33 million. And it doesn’t end there. By finishing third in the constructor’s championship, Ferrari gets another big payday. By landing in the top three for two of the previous three years, Ferrari collects another $71 million.

When you add it all up, Ferrari will take home over $104 million in 2011. That’s more than both Red Bull and McLaren who finished ahead of it in the season standings. Doing similar calculations, Noble reports that McLaren should collect nearly $85 million while Red Bull will earn a tad over $93 million.

Despite this discrepancy in earnings – which would throw the NBA, NFL or Major League Baseball team owner’s association into cardiac arrest – the F1 teams give up the extra loot willingly. In particular, Ferrari’s exclusive 2.5% bonus based on “historical contribution” is signed off on by all teams in the Concorde agreement. As Noble writes, “every team recognizes the value of having the Prancing Horse there.”

At Brazil last week, Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Autosport that nobody grumbles about Ferrari’s favored financial status. “It is better that Ferrari are here, than not,” Horner stated. “Ferrari and F1 are synonymous and, for us, the prestige of winning in F1 with Ferrari in it is immeasurably higher than if they were not. They are historically the most significant team and it is understandable why their commercial terms are slightly different to the others.”

You have to recognize and be respectful of the Ferrari brand and the Ferrari heritage,” Horner continued. ”And we would far rather race in a championship with them – and it is great prestige to beat a team like Ferrari.”

No doubt, beating Ferrari in F1 is a prestigious honor. But who knew it was so expensive!?

- Photo and Text by Dana Larkin