---
title: "Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Spent Over $400 Million in 2017: Report"
description: "All that cash won Mercedes the constructors' championship, and Lewis Hamilton the drivers' championship."
date: "2018-10-05"
modified: "2018-10-05"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/24042/mercedes-amg-petronas-f1-team-spent-over-400-million-in-2017-report"
categories:
  - "F1"
  - "News"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "FIA"
  - "Formula 1"
  - "Lewis Hamilton"
  - "Mercedes-AMG"
  - "Mercedes-AMG"
  - "News"
  - "Racing News"
  - "scuderia ferrari"
  - "Valtteri Bottas"
---

# Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Spent Over $400 Million in 2017: Report

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/10/gettyimages-1043403940.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com\</em\>*

Mercedes-AMG's Formula 1 expenditures over the 2017 season reportedly totaled more than $400 million.

According to filings with the United Kingdom's Companies house, the cost of the company's [highly successful racing outfit](<https://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/15573/lewis-hamilton-is-the-2017-formula-1-world-champion>) over 2017 was £309.7 million, or about $403.3 million. Only £60 million ($78.2 million) was out-of-pocket expenditure for Mercedes's parent company Daimler, however, with the rest of the budget covered by sponsorships and prize money. Enough came back Mercedes' way that the team reportedly achieved a £13.3 million ($17.3 million) profit, never mind the estimated £3.4 billion ($4.4 billion) worth of TV screen time combined between the team and its sponsors.

The team's 2016 budget reportedly totaled £263.8 million ($343.3 million). 2017's sharp increase in spending was down to revised car regulations, which reportedly increased the average number of personnel by 62 from 849 to 912, adding £3.9 million ($5.1 million) in payroll to the team's costs.

Team principal [Toto Wolff](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/18190/mercedes-toto-wolff-opens-up-about-lewis-hamilton-and-the-2018-f1-season>) has reportedly described the fight among the three top-spending, front-running teams as a "resource race." Despite proving itself capable of competing in this atmosphere, Wolff has according to [*Motorsport Total*](<https://www.motorsport-total.com/formel-1/news/flagge-in-der-hand-toto-wolff-mahnt-zur-einfuehrung-der-budgetobergrenze-18092710>) come out in favor of the $150 million [budget cap](<https://www.thedrive.com/accelerator/19947/liberty-media-lays-out-blueprint-for-f1s-future-at-bahrain-grand-prix>) proposed by commercial rights holder Liberty Media.

"When top teams today spend $290 million, they can not say, 'hurray, in two years we'll get $150 million," Wolff told *Der Spiegel*. "Then we would all be restructuring cases, and we finally have a responsibility for our 950 employees \[sic\]."

*The Drive* reached out to Mercedes-AMG for comment on claims of its budget, and we will update when we receive a response.

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

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