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The 2024 F1 season wraps up this weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
With the driver’s title already claimed by Max Verstappen the constructor’s is still all to play for. And winning or not can mean the difference between many millions of dollars.
Here’s a breakdown of the prize money available for the teams and how they can win it.
Constructor's title is all to play for
Max Verstappen took his fourth world championship title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago, sealing the deal with two races still to run. But the teams’ championship won’t be settled until the chequered flag falls at the Yas Marina Circuit this weekend.
There are only two teams in with a chance of winning the constructor’s title; McLaren and Ferrari.
Red Bull are too far behind in third place to stand a chance of winning, largely thanks to Sergio Perez’ very lacklustre form throughout the season.
Here’s the current constructor’s standings with one race left to run:
McLaren – 640 pts
Ferrari – 619 pts
Red Bull Racing – 581 pts
Mercedes – 446 pts
Aston Martin – 92 pts
Alpine – 59 pts
Haas – 54 pts
RB – 46 pts
Williams – 17 pts
Sauber – 4 pts
The maximum number of points available for a team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is 44. That’s acheivable if their drivers place first (25 points) and second (18 points) and one of them also sets the fastest lap during the race (1 point).
The number of points available from 1st to 10th place is 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1.
Heading in to the finale, Ferrari have a 21 point defecit to McLaren. If their drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz have a perfect result with a 1-2 finish and fastest lap, that would move them up to 663 points.
However, if McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri then finish 3rd and 4th with a Ferrari 1-2, McLaren would move up to 667 points, still enough to take the title. But if the two McLarens finished 5th and 6th instead, that would only move them up to 658 points and that would be enough for Ferrari to take it if they have a 1-2.
So if Ferrari want to win the constructors’, they need a perfect weekend for themselves and a much less-than perfect weekend for McLaren.
If the McLarens finish ahead of the Ferraris then the title will go to the Papaya team rather than the Scarlet red one.
What happens if it's a tie on points?
If after the final race McLaren and Ferrari are tied on points, the winner will be the team with the most victories. If they have the same number of victories then it will be the one with the most number of 2nd places.
Currently both teams have 5 race wins this year. So if they are tied on points, a win for either team at Abu Dhabi would get them the title.
But if they’re tied on points and neither team wins, then as it stands the winner will be McLaren with ten 2nd-place finishes compared to Ferrari with just four.
Previous winners
Red Bull and Mercedes have between them won the last 14 constructor’s titles, going all the way back to 2010. Red Bull have 6 of those and Mercedes have 8. The 2009 title was won by Brawn GP in their incredible one-off season.
2008 was the last time Ferrari won the constructor’s title. They’ll be doing everything they can to end their 16-year drought.
McLaren’s last win was 1998, 26 years ago, when their drivers Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard took the title for them.
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F1 Constructors Prize Money
Obviously bragging rights is important for the teams, but even more important is money. The teams championship is what decides how much each team is awarded from the total F1 prize pot, not the driver’s championship.
Sky Sports reports that 50% of Formula 1’s total commercial rights profit is allocated to the teams’ prize pot. That’s a combination of the fees it receives for hosting races, TV revenue, sponsorship deals, advertising and more.
In 2023, F1’s owners Libery Media reported a profit of $3.2bn (£2.3bn) for the sport. So the total prize pot would be 50% of that; $1.6bn (£1.2bn).
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Before the total pot of $1.6bn is split between the teams, some is taken out for bonuses and other fees. As an example, Ferrari receive 5% for their ongoing commitment, contribution and participation in the sport since it began in the 1960s.
The rest is then split amongst the teams. The winning team receives around 14% and the 10th-place team gets 6%.
Here’s what the prize money looks like for each position in the standings. These are based on F1’s 2023 earnings, but with the continued growth of the sport it’s likely these figures will be higher for 2024:
| Position | Prize $ |
|---|---|
| 1st | $140m (£110m) |
| 2nd | $131m (£103m) |
| 3rd | $122m (£96m) |
| 4th | $113m (£89m) |
| 5th | $104m (£82m) |
| 6th | $95m (£75m) |
| 7th | $87m (£69m) |
| 8th | $78m (£62m) |
| 9th | $69m (£54m) |
| 10th | $60m (£46m) |
Each position lower in the standings a team ends up, they’ll receive around $10m / £7.5m less. So even for the teams lower down the standings, every point and position is worth fighting for.
Even more so, infact, for the lower teams as they’re likely to be the ones that could do with the extra cash injection.
Red Bull will be finishing this year in third place in the constructor’s standings. They can’t catch second place and also won’t be caught by Mercedes in fourth. That means they’re around $20m down on where they could have been, had Sergio Perez performed better this year
