How much money each F1 team earns by position

The quick answer

In 2025, F1 paid its teams about US$1.4 billion in total. Each place in the constructors' championship is worth around US$8.5 million more than the next, according to the best estimates.

Adding everything up, Ferrari would have received close to 250 million and Alpine, last, about 64 million. McLaren, champions in 2025, would have been fourth for money, with about 180 million.

Important: the total is official, because it appears in the accounts of the company that owns F1. The split by team is not. The agreement is secret, and the figures per team are estimates from specialist media.

Where the money comes from

F1 sells TV rights, charges circuits to host a race and brings in sponsors. In 2025 it had revenue of about US$3.9 billion, according to Liberty Media, the company that owns the sport.

Part of that money goes back to the teams as prize money. The official accounts show that the total payment has been growing:

This does not include what each team earns on its own from its sponsors, or what its owners put in. That is why a big team can spend far more than it receives from F1.

How it is shared out

The rules are in the Concorde Agreement, a secret contract between F1, the FIA and the teams. Through leaks and the work of several journalists, we know the pot is divided into three parts:

Heritage payment

Ferrari is the only team present since the first championship. That is why it gets an extra payment however it performs. With the 2024 total, it is estimated at about US$63 million.

Past success

In each of the last ten years, the champion team earns 3 points, the runner-up 2 and the third-placed team 1. Each point is worth an equal share of this prize. It is there to reward consistency.

Final position

This is the largest part. The best team takes about 14% of this pot and the last about 6%.

How much each place is worth

This table shows only the part paid for final position. It is The Race's estimate, made with the 2024 total of US$1,266 million. 75% of that total is US$949.5 million, shared among the ten teams of that time.

All figures are in dollars. The practical conclusion is clear: moving up a single place in the table is worth about US$8.5 million. That is a huge amount of money for a small team, and it explains why a single point at the bottom of the table is celebrated so much.

Think of it like this: tenth place in a race gives 1 point. If that point moves you up one place in the constructors' championship, that single point is worth millions of dollars. It also works the other way round: dropping one place costs a team about the same amount.

How much each team would have received

This other estimate is from Motor Sport and uses the most recent total. It adds up the three parts for the ten teams of 2025, and the result comes to just about US$1.4 billion, matching the official total:

Sources do not agree on everything. Some work out one year's payments from the previous year's results, and others from the same year's. Take these figures as a rough order of magnitude.

Why the champion is not paid the most

McLaren won the constructors' championship in 2025 and still came fourth for money. It seems strange, but there is an explanation.

The past success part looks back ten years. Mercedes dominated much of that decade and Red Bull also had its title years. McLaren only returned to the front recently, so it has very few points built up.

Ferrari, as well as its good past results, receives the heritage payment. That is why it can be the team that gets the most in a year without winning races, something several teams criticise.

This is changing little by little. Each season McLaren finishes at the top adds points, and each old Mercedes year stops counting.

What changed with Cadillac

In 2026 an 11th team joined, Cadillac. That means sharing the pot among more teams. To make up for that loss, media reported that Cadillac paid an entry fee of US$450 million, shared among the existing teams. That figure has not been officially confirmed.

There is also a new Concorde Agreement, in force until 2030. Its numbers are not public either, so no reliable breakdown by position is known yet for 2026.

Drivers get no prize money

Unlike tennis or golf, F1 has no prize for the winning driver. The money goes to the teams, and each driver is paid what their contract says.

It is common, though, for contracts to include bonuses for points or results. Motor Sport mentions the case of Max Verstappen, who is said to have earned US$15 million in bonuses in 2024, on top of his salary.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the winner of a race earn?

There is no prize per race. What matters is the team's final position over the whole year. A win is worth the points it brings to the championship.

Is the prize money profit for the team?

No. It is income, and an F1 team spends hundreds of millions a year. The prize helps to cover those costs. For the smallest teams, it can be their main source of money.

When is it paid?

The money is paid over time, and much of it depends on what happened in the previous season. That is why a good year shows up in the following year's accounts.

Why is it secret?

The agreement between F1 and the teams is private. Only the total is published, because Liberty Media is listed on the stock market and must report it in its accounts.