The matter has polarised the teams, with Alpine and Alfa Romeo the most vocal in attempting to ensure that there is no change to the headline 2022 figure of $140m, plus an extra $1.2m for the 22nd race. Meanwhile Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes are leading the push for an increase, and their pleas have been getting increasingly frantic as the clock continues to tick and they see where their costs are heading as global inflation kicks in.
All teams agreed to a reduction from $175m to the current level at the height of the global COVID lockdown in 2020, at a time when it wasn’t clear what kind of season we would eventually have, and thus how much income would be coming in. Just a couple of years later, we have a full schedule, huge crowds are back at the venues and sponsors are queuing up to come in. Teams are arguably in a healthier state than ever before.
