Ferrari received by far the largest prize money payout last year, $164 million (£104m), despite finishing just fourth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Meanwhile champions Mercedes took home the third largest payment, $126m (£80m), which was $30m (£19m) less than Red Bull, which also finished behind the Brackley-based outfit in 2014.
Williams was the big loser though. Despite finishing third, it was paid the fifth highest amount, behind even McLaren which scored just 181 points to Williams’ 320.
This is due to the unique prize money stucture which doesn’t only reward success, but status within the sport. Ferrari, the oldest team, is therefore considered the most important.
Formula One Management takes the total revenue and distributes 65 per cent of it amongst the teams. However whilst 50 per cent of that is distributed based on their finishing position, the remaining 15 per cent is split between five teams; Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Williams.
This is weighted differently though depending on pre-negotiated terms with Bernie Ecclestone. Ferrari took home a $97m (£62m) ‘premium’ on top of its $67m (£43m) performance payout.
Mercedes was awarded $92m (£58m) for winning the championship, but its ‘premium’ came to just $34m (£22m), giving it a total which is $38m (£24m) shy of Ferrari’s total.
The remaining five teams receive no ‘premium’ and solely rely on their performance payments, of which Sauber received the least at $44m (£28m).
| # | Team | Total ($m) | Performance ($m) | Premium ($m) | Position |
| 01 | Ferrari | 164 | 67 | 97 | 4 |
| 02 | Red Bull | 156 | 82 | 74 | 2 |
| 03 | Mercedes | 126 | 92 | 34 | 1 |
| 04 | McLaren | 98 | 63 | 34 | 5 |
| 05 | Williams | 83 | 73 | 10 | 3 |
| 06 | Force India | 60 | 60 | – | 6 |
| 07 | Toro Rosso | 54 | 54 | – | 7 |
| 08 | Lotus | 51 | 51 | – | 8 |
| 09 | Marussia | 48 | 48 | – | 9 |
| 10 | Sauber | 44 | 44 | – | 10 |
Figures from Autosport