Breaking Down the Costs of Racing in Formula 1: Is Spending Out of Control?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 19, 2014

commentComment        

The 2013 Formula One season was filled with reports of teams in financial trouble. It is no secret that many of the smaller teams (and even the race-winning Lotus team) are struggling. At the same time, F1 is bringing in record levels of revenue.

So, how can we reconcile these two, apparently conflicting, realities?

To do so, there are two areas that must be considered: the teams' spending and the goals of the sport's commercial rights holders.

The first reason for F1's financial health problems is the amount currently spent by the teams to go racing. By any reasonable measure, the costs to compete in modern F1 are ridiculous—but then, F1 has always been about excess.

For reference, here are the estimated 2013 budgets for each team, according to Autosport's Dieter Rencken (paywall protected):



The cost seems to be close to £100 million just for regular points finishes (Williams excepted), even now that the top 10 finishers score in each race. (If you are interested in exactly where all that money goes, here is a breakdown from NBC Sports, comparing F1 and IndyCar costs.)

However, the teams cannot really be blamed for the increase in spending. Their mandate is to win, and in pursuit of that goal, they will spend whatever money is available to them. They always have and they always will.

Even if one area of spending is restricted—as is now the case with, for example, hours of operation for team wind tunnels—the teams with the money will find another way to spend it. Therefore, the only way to effectively rein in costs is for the FIA to implement a hard spending cap and to police it vigilantly.



For the 2015 season, the FIA has announced that a cap will be in place. Whether it will be set at a reasonable limit and whether it can be effectively monitored are the two biggest question marks in determining the ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Formula 1

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!