Hoffman900 wrote: ↑22 Jul 2024, 23:00
The real money for the teams is the WCC as their payout is linked to that.
Remember, Mclaren has foreign investors who want to see a return. A higher payout is less money they need to invest in (and more they take out as profit), more money sponsors pay, and higher profit the investors make.
And investor profit is all about what F1 is now in the Concorde / cost cap era. The cost ceiling is set, and everyone on top of that is investor profit.
Of course, WDC gets the headlines, but WCC pays the bills.
Yeah the investors definitely want some money back given how much they have supported not only the team and the Automotive group.
But last year RB got 9m more than Merc with a season that was ridiculously dominant. RB got £22m more than Mclaren who finished fourth. There will be sponsors payouts too, but most likely for both standings. But is this offset by the glamour of a WDC bringing in greater sponsorship?
I'm not sure where the numbers lie, but I don't feel that the WCC is a gamechanger compared to the WDC in terms of money. Especially since you are talking about finishing either 1st or 2nd in the constructors with a drivers champion so you're probably not losing many millions.
Mclaren racing, as an entity including their other series, became self sustainable in the previous financial year, so Zak Brown has said. Doesn't mean they are making much money of course, but they are at least no longer requiring support in FY 2023. This year will see a bigger driver wage bill but income should be significantly up.
Not sure why Stella is more focussed on the WCC, but he has a different focus than many people in the sport, this focus has transformed Mclaren and the WCC is the team championship, so I guess, why not.
When I was younger I would support the driver more than the team, now it is the other way round and I see drivers as employees, so I'm happy to prioritise a WCC over WDC. That said, I'd dearly love to see Lando, or if not him then Oscar, win a WDC.