---
title: "How Much Money Do Formula One Teams Really Make?"
description: "Millions and millions and millions and millions."
date: "2018-01-31"
modified: "2018-07-22"
authors:
  - name: "Jerry Perez"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/jerry-perez"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18118/how-much-money-do-formula-one-teams-really-make"
categories:
  - "F1"
  - "News"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "FIA"
  - "Formula One"
  - "racing"
---

# How Much Money Do Formula One Teams Really Make?

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/01/screen-shot-2018-01-31-at-4-30-42-pm.png>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

With the 2018 [Formula One](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/17836/formula-1-to-introduce-new-minimum-driver-weight-in-2019>) campaign less than two months away, it's a perfect time to analyze how different teams will be gearing up for the 21-race season. Of course, this will vary depending on the size of their yearly operating budgets, which is greatly influenced by the amount of money they get from the Formula One Group, who is owned by Liberty Media, who is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

This [video](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDrolrgtuIk>) created by *WTF1* sheds some light on how the billionaire purse is distributed across the participating teams, and who gets what and for what reasons. As expected, the team that clinches the Constructors' Championship and wins the most races tends to earn more than the others, but that isn't *always* the case.

According to the video, all teams that have participated in the championship for a minimum of three seasons get a royalty payment of $36 million, which means the boys and girls at Haas F1 are out of luck until the end of 2018. Furthermore, teams receive prize money based on the previous season's performance, which means [Mercedes-AMG](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/17999/mercedes-amg-will-give-away-a-c43-coupe-during-super-bowl-lii>) Petronas received a whopping $61 million in 2017 solely for winning the world championship the year prior—and that's before other bonuses which tacked on an additional $100 million and some change.

https://youtube.com/embed/FDrolrgtuIk

Of course, F1 is known for their politics and certain "bonuses" reflect that. Take for example the Long Standing Team (LST) bonus, which awarded Ferrari and only Ferrari a total of $68 million simply for being in F1 longer than anyone else. Perhaps Vettel and Raikkonen see this as job security.

In case you're not up to speed, the Liberty Media makes its money from [monetizing](<https://www.bbc.com/news/29378069>) the circus' commercial licenses like TV rights, merchandise licensing, ticket revenue, and participating fees from all the race venues they visit (except [Monaco](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/18057/ayrton-sennas-grand-prix-winning-formula-one-car-is-going-to-auction>)). This money is then distributed over the winter per the regulations, which as you can see, can be a bit questionable.

Once it's all said and done, the highest earning team made almost 10 times the amount of the lowest earning team in 2017. The more you know!

## Author
Jerry is responsible for upholding The Drive's ethos as an audience-first, enthusiast-driven car blog that serves up industry-leading news, reviews, culture, and motorsport coverage. Overseeing a staff of writers and editors from his home base in Indianapolis, he helps curate the site's daily rundown, as well as its medium- and long-term content strategies. Jerry joined The Drive in 2018 as a writer and worked as news editor and managing editor before becoming the deputy in 2023. As a lifelong car enthusiast and racing fan, Jerry believes that all cars are cool, but the people behind the machines are even cooler. This belief often gives The Drive a slightly different focus from most other car sites, where we explore the humanity behind the machines. When he's not obsessing over the day's biggest stories or hanging out at a race track, Jerry can be found behind the wheel of a car, most likely sharing a laugh with his teenage son or daughter.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/drive_jerry/>)