RED BULL vs FERRARI: This Sunday, the F1 World Champion 2012 will be crowned in Brazil as Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel attempts to hold off a late challenge from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
But the result over the season will be based as much on the financial investment made in the teams as the skill of the drivers. So which team – and sponsor brand – has thrown more money at the F1 project?
According to figures released in relation to last year’s championship, Ferrari’s budget of €440m was the highest of all the teams – significantly higher than the €245m available to Red Bull F1.
This disparity narrowed considerably in 2012 with Ferrari spending around €310m and Red Bull thought to be investing up to €265m.
Ferrari has been among the most vocal of the teams in terms of controlling Formula One racing costs, despite receiving around $100m (€77.5m) per year from Philip Morris’ Marlboro.
Red Bull F1 is similarly well-funded by the energy drink brand, but it will surprise some to learn that Red Bull contributes below 50 per cent of the team’s expenditure.
In terms of the most valuable team however there is no contest. Ferrari, owned by the Fiat group, was recently valued at $1.15m by Forbes, compared to the $400m valuation of Red Bull F1.
By Matthew Glendinning
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @mattgen
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