FIA finalises entry fees for 2021 Formula 1 season
The FIA has finalised the entry fees for the 2021 Formula 1 season following the latest meeting of the World Motor Sport Council this week.
F1 teams have been subject to a weighted entry fee system since 2013, paying a base fee plus an additional sum for every point it scored in the previous year's championship.
All 10 teams were required to pay $556,509 before adding in their weighted totals ahead of the 2020 season, stumping up an additional $5,563 for every point scored, with the champion team – Mercedes – paying $6,677 per point.
Mercedes paid more than $5.4 million to race this year, but with the season cut to 17 races in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, its bill was set to be cut by more than $1m.
The FIA has now issued an update to the sporting regulations confirming the final entry fees ahead of the 2021 season, raising the sums in line with rate of inflation in the United States.
The fees have been subject to a 2.3% increase - indexed by US CPI - that means all teams will be required to pay $569,308 before their points totals are added in.
As the winner of the constructors' championship, Mercedes will pay an additional $6,830 for every point scored, while every other competitor will pay $5,691 per point.
After failing to score any points through 2020, Williams will not be required to pay anything on top of that base figure, meaning its total bill only rises by $7,236 compared to last year.
Haas and Alfa Romeo also enjoy drops in their entry fees compared to last year, saving more than $100,000 each.
Ferrari has enjoyed the biggest cut in its entry fee after its worst constructors' championship since 1980 that saw it score less than 30% of its points total from last year. Its bill has dropped from $3.36m to just $1.31m year-on-year.
Midfield teams McLaren, Racing Point, Renault and AlphaTauri will all pay more than last year after improved showings this year. Racing Point will pay over $700k more than its entry fee for the 2020 season to race next year.
Red Bull's fee from 2020 drops by almost half a million dollars, while Mercedes' final saving comes to $1.008m, although all teams are braced for a drop in revenues from F1 as a result of the reduced calendar this year.
| Team | Points | Points-based fee | Total entry fee |
| Mercedes | 573 | $3,913,590 | $4,482,898 |
| Red Bull | 319 | $2,178,770 | $2,748,078 |
| McLaren | 202 | $1,379,660 | $1,948,968 |
| Racing Point | 195 | $1,331,850 | $1,901,158 |
| Renault | 181 | $1,236,230 | $1,805,538 |
| Ferrari | 131 | $894,730 | $1,464,038 |
| AlphaTauri | 107 | $730,810 | $1,300,118 |
| Alfa Romeo | 8 | $54,640 | $623,948 |
| Haas | 3 | $20,490 | $589,798 |
| Williams | 0 | $0 | $569,308 |
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