GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: Wizzo on June 18, 2006, 09:00:18 PM
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Who has the biggest wallet?
The biggest one among F1 drivers belongs to Michael Schumacher, who earned $60 million US last year, according to Forbes magazine. That put the Ferrari driver No. 2 on Forbes's list of highest-earning athletes, behind golfer Tiger Woods at $87 million.
To put Schumacher's earnings into perspective, that's $21 million more than the salary cap for an entire NHL team this past season. It also works out to $164,383.56 per day every day or $6,849.32 an hour 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Makes you wonder why Schumacher doesn't smile more often.
Maybe that's because the German driver is a poor man compared with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, who has amassed a fortune estimated at $3.7 billion.
F1 Racing, a British magazine, reported in its March 2006 edition that the 10 F1 teams that competed in 2005 spent a combined $2.8 billion to go racing. The three biggest spenders were Toyota, $499.05 million; Ferrari, $432.98 million and McLaren-Mercedes, $419.95 million.
Toyota's cost breakdown included $63.4 million for research and development; $2.8 million for car-manufacturing costs; $13.14 million for wind tunnel costs; $77.5 million for operating cars at tests; $29.71 million for operating cars at races; $68.53 million for team salaries; $180 million for engine budgets; $39.5 million for driver salaries; $12.97 million for travel and accommodation; and $11.5 million for corporate entertainment.
The magazine also reported that for each lap an F1 car completes in a race, the cost is nearly $1,300 in fuel, tires and brake wear. The Grand Prix of Canada is 70 laps, meaning it will cost about $91,000 to reach the finish line.
Makes the price of gas for the family vacation this summer seem like a bargain.
But in the world of F1 and its big spenders, money is no object.
This month, the Formula 1 Collection went on sale on the sport's website formula1.com with prices as much as 14 times more than for official World Cup soccer products, according to a report by Bloomberg News. The collection includes a $484 computer mouse pad, a $233 baseball cap and a $93 key ring. The mouse pad is handmade with carbon by technicians who produce the bodywork on F1 cars, while the baseball cap has 300 crystals to mark out the F1 logo.
With dollar signs bouncing through my mind, I decided to go for an afternoon stroll downtown last Wednesday to see what merchants have to offer F1's big spenders when they come to town.
Here are some of the interesting items I found:
-- Team jacket, $425: The most expensive item at Grand Prix Miniatures Inc. is an official Renault team jacket, just like the one worn by driving champion Fernando Alonso. The store specializes in F1 merchandise, and manager Joe Alvaro says he opens a month before the grand prix and closes around mid-August. You can also buy a pair of red Puma driving shoes with the Ferrari logo for $184.99 or a youth-sized one-piece Ferrari driving suit for $100.
- Autographed driving suit, $4,000: The suit, which store co-owner Najim Slaoui says was worn and then signed by Juan Pablo Montoya while he was with the BMW-Williams team, is the most expensive item at Formule 1 Emporium. The store is open year-round for F1 fans.
- Cigar, $100: The most expensive Cuban Cohiba at Vasco Cigaresis especially popular with American F1 visitors who can't purchase them legally at home, according to store owner Raffi Kotchounian, who added he will be open for business on St. Jean Baptiste Day for the first time since starting the business 20 years ago.
- Champagne, $895: Club general manager David Tanguay says the Cristal flows freely at that price with the big spenders at Newtown, which is co-owned by F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve and his agent, Craig Pollock.
- Red wine, $1,995: A magnum of 1961 Petrus Pomerol is the most expensive bottle at the SAQ Signature liquor store in Montreal's Eaton Centre.
- Hotel suite, $3,500 per night: Joanne Papineau, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth's regional director of public relations for Eastern Canada, calls it a ``presidential'' suite. But that suite, along with just about every other hotel room in the city, is already booked for grand prix week.
- Ticket to the race, $440: That's the top price for a three-day grandstand seat. But race organizers say there aren't many left, so you better hurry if you want one.
At that price, it's a bargain for F1's big spenders.