Drag racing fans, NASCAR fans, and even dirt track fans to come level like to complain about how expensive stuff is and how racing is hurting because of it. Well, F1 hears those arguments and then says, “Holy my beer…” Why? It has been revealed that the cost to develop and maintain an engine package in the series is somewhere around $1.2 billion dollars. Not MILLION….BILLION. Engineers working tirelessly 24 hours a day, new parts, exotic materials, testing, racing, etc. Oh, and since Ferrari does not release their numbers, the world is guessing they actually spend more than Mercedes does, which is where the $1.4 billion number came from.
The problem with all of this is that Mercedes is crushing everyone and companies like Honda and Renault are considering jumping ship and quitting the series because they just cannot compete and the costs are so astronomically high they are not seeing the return back on the money they are spending.
Renault has been around F1 forever and even they are kind of tired of the program, especially because since 2014 their engines have won 10% of the races and Mercedes 73%. Honda is at 1%. The scary thing for F1 is that if those companies bail, there’s no one to replace them. Not one entity has expressed interest in building turbocharged V6 engines for the series and why would they? Supposedly the current engine package will be in place through the 2021 season which may help cost but it nay help Renault and Honda to jump ship. After that? Yikes.
This is a really neat read and one with numbers that some countries don’t even deal with in governing and managing budgets. It’s the world’s biggest and most expensive series. It is also the world’s most tenuous.
Incredible: Reports place cost of F1 engine development at $1.4 Billion
Oh great… even more $$ to be spent on the new “sport of kings” . Don’t show this article to any polo pony you might know. 🙂
Honestly that form of racing is so over the top I have no interest in it. I am never going to have Ferrari money anyway.
If the tobacco sponsorship money was still around no-one would be at all worried about that level of spending
Amazing technology, super skilled drivers, and some of the most boring racing on planet earth….
Happy Motoring is right as rain! For some reason I still occasionally watch, for 10 minutes then the boredom hits.
Yep all that money spent just to find out who’s KERS unit can push the car just hard enough to get 3 good laps out of the tires instead of 2. Yippie!!
Please bring back innovation, V10’s, and some real flavor to this series. Obviously budgets don’t concern these multi-trillion dollar companies so cut the “3 engines a year” crap and let the guys actually race the WHOLE race instead of this same deal every week where it’s almost exciting for the first two laps, then everybody has to form a line, turn their stuff down 40% and have a parade for the next two hours. Especially when it’s the SAME Grand Marshall leading EVERY parade!!! Snore………
Dump all the exotic crap and driver aids and get back to v8s and have proper racing it’s dying on its arse!
Watched the Super Boss Formula One vintage race at Laguna Seca. Man, the diversity, sounds, and sideways action was awesome. I Knew every car by site or sound. Not like today