(Motorsports news) This season, the Milton Keynes-based team, Red Bull put on one of the most dominant performances in Formula One history, with its drivers taking home the titles of both world championships very early after winning 21 of 22 races. With 860 points, it easily surpassed Mercedes’s previous season record of 765 points, which it had collected during its 2016 title double.
But victory does not come without a price, and in Formula One parlance, that means Red Bull will have to pay the largest official entry fee ever for a team. Since 2013, the FIA has determined each competitor’s entry fees based on their point total from the previous season, as part of an updated Concorde Agreement that went into effect that same year. At first, the constructors’ champion would pay $6000, with a basic cost of $500,000 plus $5000 for each point scored.
Inflation has caused this amount to climb constantly, and as of 2024, it is $657,837 for the base charge + $6575 for each point scored by every team (the constructors’ champion is exempt and must pay $7893). In light of Red Bull’s enormous profit this year, it needs to pay the FIA $7,445,817 by December 10 in order to have its 2024 entry verified. The extent of its supremacy is evident from the fact that third-place Ferrari must pay $3,327,287, while second-place Mercedes, with 409 points, only needs to pay $3,347,012.
Christian Horner, the manager of the Red Bull team, acknowledged that the eye-watering, record-breaking amount his team was paying was an inevitable result of the level of success the unit had achieved in 2023. He said, “I mean, it’s a luxury problem to have because we’ve had to score the points to generate the invoice.” Fortunately, it doesn’t go over the budget cap. “Yeah, well, writing a big check to the FIA is one thing.”
Sergio Perez might have contributed more to Red Bull’s campaign total, and the team could have won the Singapore Grand Prix to increase the team’s final payment. The Red Bull team was not devastated by the Singapore result, which turned out to be the only race that stopped them from winning all of the races this year, according to Horner. When asked if he was frustrated at not being able to complete a historic campaign in which he won every race, Horner replied,
“No.” It teaches you a valuable lesson about how rapidly things can change and humbles you to know that there is still something to aim for. It was a remarkable weekend in Singapore. “I never imagined doing a clean sweep, and ever since the third race, you guys the media have been asking me, ‘Do you think you can win all the races this year?’
