Why the F1 constructors' championship really matters

For all the driver accolades, world championship achievements of the greats and the unforgettable rivalries that transcend the ages, Formula 1 is very much a team sport. Therefore, for the teams involved at least, the constructors’ championship will always take precedent over the individual drivers’ title. But another overriding reason for that is simple; what do most decisions in F1 – and elite sports in general – come down to? Money.

There is no official prize pot for the world drivers’ champion in F1, although obviously Max Verstappen will have been handsomely rewarded with bonuses within his Red Bull contract for retaining the crown. Teams themselves bring in plenty of revenue through sponsors and partnerships, but the windfall for claiming the constructors’ championship is a squad’s primary target from when the first concept of its latest car is dreamed up to the second it hits the track for the first practice session of a new season.

McLaren had not won the title for a generation. Not since the days of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard in 1998 could it boast of having the best car on the grid until the 2024 duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri proved to be powerful in papaya (apart from perhaps 2007? – ed). “It was always our priority,” said McLaren team principal Andrea Stella of the constructors’ title after Norris’s individual championship hopes had evaporated. “Even when there was a call to be made to support one driver or the other, it was always secondary to that – to maximising the constructors’ championship.”

It matters all the way down the grid, too. The final positions in the standings have an impact on bonuses for employees back at the factories, garage position in the pits, and marketability to potential new sponsors. All are affected by team performance.

Those further back may have the incentive of extra wind tunnel time for the following year but, all in all, finishing as high as possible matters most – just ask Alpine. The Enstone-based squad started 2024 as the slowest team on the grid, locking out the back row at the first race in Bahrain. Add to that Renault pulling its F1 engine programme, drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon colliding in Monaco, a change of team principal, as well as the departures of technical director Matt Harman and head of aerodynamics Dirk de Beer, and it appeared set to be something of an annus horribilis for Alpine.

That was until the heavens opened on Interlagos and a rain-soaked Brazilian Grand Prix helped the team seal a double podium finish as Ocon came home second ahead of Gasly, with the former’s departure for Haas announced earlier in the season having caused yet more instability. The resulting 33-point haul sent Alpine soaring up the constructors’ standings from ninth to sixth and, given the meagre seven-point lead over Haas come the end of the season, the team grabbed in the region of an extra $30million in prize money courtesy of the Sao Paulo weather.

Alpine's double podium launched it up the constructors' standings and earned the team an extra $30m in prize money

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

With a customer engine deal with Mercedes to pay for, improvements to the R&D facility and wind tunnel building at Enstone, and also the need to reinvest in car performance as a fundamental factor of F1, that eight-figure sum will soon burn a hole in the pocket of the money men.

While the figures are never officially published, the money on offer is weighted by the sport’s commercial profits so will often vary annually. It is believed that McLaren, having ended its barren run, will pocket in the region of $140m – although that does not make it the biggest earner of the year.

The Concorde Agreement lays out the prize structure within the sport and, under the current deal, Ferrari receives an additional payment because of its long-term significance to the series, as the only team to compete in every world championship season. That bonus is irrelevant to its competitive fortunes on track so, as well as the money for finishing second to McLaren, Ferrari will also receive a payment that is at least 5% of the entire prize fund. It is understood that it receives this baseline figure if the total prize pot distributed to teams does not exceed $1.1billion.

"You can see the importance of having two drivers scoring on a regular basis in the constructors’ championship – it’s crucial" Christian Horner

However, there is believed to be an escalator formula in place that means if the prize pot gets bigger, then Ferrari gets a greater share of each incremental step up. This eventually maxes out at 10% for anything above and beyond around the $1.6bn mark – exactly where the income figures are believed to be now.

While the bonus payment has courted controversy, it is understood to still be in place for the next Concorde Agreement, which begins in 2026, but the proposal will mean a cap of 5% no matter where the prize pot sits.

With McLaren and Ferrari battling it out for the 2024 constructors’ championship, what of Red Bull? Winner of the teams’ title in 2022 and 2023, it was some distance behind despite Verstappen sealing a fourth drivers’ championship in succession. The issue for Red Bull was that, by the second half of the season, it was essentially running a one-car team against the impressive driver duos at McLaren and Ferrari, while Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were also weighing in with results.

Ferrari's bonus pay for its historical significance to F1 remains in place for the next Concorde Agreement

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

The upshot? A long goodbye to Sergio Perez after four years with the team. The Mexican scored just 152 points over the year (Verstappen netted 437) and finished no higher than sixth after the summer break, following the signing of a new two-year deal as a show of support amid criticism of his performances. Liam Lawson has now come in, tasked with keeping up with Verstappen to help deliver not just drivers’ championships but also the sought-after team accolade that was wrestled away from Red Bull with very little difficulty.

“I think you can see the importance of having two drivers scoring on a regular basis in the constructors’ championship – it’s crucial,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said after the Abu Dhabi GP. “Ferrari will be strong with their line-up next year. McLaren has a strong line-up. Mercedes will have an inexperienced driver [Andrea Kimi Antonelli] in one of their seats. So, for our team, it’s very important that both of our drivers are delivering and there’s not a significant gap.

“Congratulations go to McLaren; we know how hard it is to win a constructors’ world championship. They’ve been outstanding and they’ve had two drivers that performed extremely well.”

With widespread paddock predictions that 2025, the final year before the regulation reset, will feature even closer racing, the battle for constructors’ supremacy could be one to remember. “I think 2025 could be an all-time classic F1 season,” Martin Brundle said on Sky Sports F1. “It is going to be so close. We’ve seen seven victors [in 2024], maybe we will have eight or nine [next year]. It is so close out front. The racing is good. I see even more of the same in 2025.”

So, while there will be plenty of discussion around Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, Verstappen setting out to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of five consecutive titles, and Norris aiming to go one better than 2024, the teams’ battle should once again provide plenty of entertainment.

The McLaren and Ferrari squabble to end their respective spells without claiming the constructors’ title meant the final races of the 2024 season had something riding on them and the battles continued down the field, as they are likely to do again this year. Ferrari, with even more spotlight on the Prancing Horse following the arrival of seven-time world champion Hamilton, will be desperate to end its own 16-season drought. McLaren will aiming to retain a crown it worked so hard for after spending several seasons in the relative doldrums, while Red Bull wants to snatch it back. A post-Hamilton era at Mercedes also promises interest and intrigue as rookie Antonelli joins George Russell.

Perez's underperformance for Red Bull cost the team in the constructors' and cost him his race seat

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

At the other end of the grid, in the final year of its current guise, Sauber will want to make marked improvements, with Audi ready to make its full entry in 2026, while Williams, with the major coup of recruiting Carlos Sainz from Ferrari, also needs to show that it is making steps in the right direction.

Aston Martin will have technical wizard Adrian Newey in his new role on 1 March and will have ambitions to improve on fifth in the 2024 standings, while Alpine will again be looking to keep its nosecones clear of Haas and RB in the midfield scramble for money, which is what it all comes down to in Formula 1.

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Every point counts in the F1 world constructors' championship

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images