The first double driver victory in Red Bull’s history is going to cost them dearly
Red Bull's record-breaking Formula 1 season has left the team facing a bill of €7.4 million in registration fees that it needs to pay to the FIA in order to compete next year.
Red Bull has achieved one of the most dominant performances in the history of F1 this season, with its drivers winning 21 out of 22 races and securing both world championship titles quite early. A first in the history of the team, which clinches its first double in the drivers’ standings.
Its total of 860 points has far exceeded the previous record for points by a team, held by Mercedes when it amassed 765 points during its double title in 2016. However, such success does not come without consequences, and in Formula 1, it means that Red Bull is facing the largest official entry fee ever paid by a team.
Since 2013, as part of the Concorde Agreement, which came into effect that year, the FIA bases each competitor’s entry fees on the number of points they scored in the previous season. This originally started with a base fee of €500,000 plus €5,000 per point scored, with the winning constructor paying €6,000.
This figure has continued to increase due to inflation and as of 2024 now stands at €657,837 for the base rate, plus €6,575 per point scored for all teams except for the constructor champion who must pay €7,893.
Given Red Bull’s tremendous season this year, it means that they have to pay €7,445,817 to the FIA before December 10th in order to confirm their commitment for 2024. For comparison, Mercedes, who finished second with a total of 409 points, only has to pay €3,347,012, while Ferrari, who finished third with 406 points, will pay €3,327,287.
The boss of the Red Bull team, Christian Horner, admitted that the record-breaking fees paid by his team were staggering, but stated that it was an inevitable consequence of the magnitude of success the team achieved in 2023. « I mean, it’s a luxury problem because we had to score points to generate the bill », he said. « Fortunately, it doesn’t count towards the budget cap ».
« But yes, it’s a large check to address to the FIA ».
An addition that could have been even higher if Sergio Perez had done more throughout the year and if the team had not missed out on the victory at the Singapore Grand Prix. This result in Singapore turned out to be the only race that prevented Red Bull from completely dominating this year, but it’s something that, according to Horner, didn’t cause the team to blame itself.
