If the world champion is already known and victory sometimes seems a foregone conclusion, the last two Grands Prix of the year can change the destiny of certain teams for next season.
Who said that the end of the Formula 1 season no longer has any interest? If the drivers’ title is already in the hands of Max Verstappen and his teammate Sergio Pérez should be his runner-up, the fight for the places of honor remains intense, particularly among the manufacturers. The last two Grands Prix, in Las Vegas on November 19 then in Abu Dhabi on November 26, will determine the order of the teams’ ranking, which is anything but anecdotal. For certain teams, it is the design of the car for the next seasons that is being played out over these two races.
The redistribution of income by Formula 1 depends in part on the place of the teams in the manufacturers’ ranking at the end of the season. The exact distribution figures appear in the opaque, even secret Concorde Agreements, which govern the governance and distribution of revenues of F1. “This information is confidential. I can only be quite vague, but we are talking about differences in the millions, or even more than 10 million depending on the final place.” reveals the former boss of Renault, Cyril Abiteboul, consultant for franceinfo: sport. The latter was at the negotiating table in 2020.
Two races for millions
Before the meeting in Las Vegas this weekend, a large part of the 2023 ranking remains to be defined. Mercedes (382 points) and Ferrari (362) will compete for second place behind Red Bull and are only separated by 20 points. It’s roughly the same gap between McLaren and Aston Martin for fourth place (282 versus 261). If Alpine is assured of finishing sixth, everything remains possible from seventh to 10th place between Williams (28 points), AlphaTauri (21), Alfa Romeo (16) and Haas (12).
No surprise then to see the AlphaTauri stand jumping with joy at the seventh place and the six points won by Daniel Ricciardo in Mexico, or the smiles after the five points gleaned by Yuki Tsunoda during the last Grand Prix in Brazil. At the end of the Top 10, the slightest point can prove decisive. “This has a significant impact on the development budget, especially for small teamsconfirms Cyril Abiteboul. It’s not so much about the budget of the current car, the difficulty is in developing the car during the following season. And this year’s performance will impact the ability of smaller teams to develop their cars next season.“
With revenues constantly increasing, F1 can offer its residents a piece of an ever-growing pie. And this while the maximum authorized budget is increasingly reduced: from 140 to 135 million dollars between 2022 and 2023. So, each additional ticket obtained is a godsend. “A fin for example is easily several hundred thousand euros for the full cost if we take the development time, the cost price, etc. figure Cyril Abiteboul. And several tens of thousands more to reproduce the element once we have developed it.“
If the majority of teams, particularly at the front, are safe from need, for a team like Williams“moving from 10th to 7th place, these are investment and development opportunities that are opening up” insists Cyril Abiteboul, while the historic F1 team is in full renewal since its takeover in 2021.
Finish further down the leaderboard to get more time?
The manufacturers’ classification poses a constraint other than the strictly financial one. A number of hours in the wind tunnel, a giant tunnel intended to observe the effects of air flows on the car, is allocated to the teams according to their place at the end of the season. “This impacts a team’s aerodynamic development capability. Unlike the distribution of income where the better you are classified, the more you receive a significant share, in the wind tunnel, it is the opposite. We give less to those at the top. This principle of redistribution aims to give a little more opportunity to those at the bottom.“
“This does not prevent Red Bull from being very efficient aerodynamically.“, tempers our consultant. If Max Verstappen’s team does not suffer from this disadvantage, it has the merit of being able to level the competition. Or at least, in part.