The amount of benefit is based:
- in part on the place that that Signatory Team achieved in F1 for the previous year and
- in part on the number of cars and events in which it has competed in the current year.
The money is paid quarterly.
Schedule 10 para 6 recognises that the benefits for which that schedule provides are assignable by a competitor if certain
conditions as set out therein are satisfied, one of which contemplates that the transferee would have been a competitor
in relation to the chassis or name transferred.
[15, 19]
According to [19], Max Mosely has apparently stated there are no provisions in the Concorde Agreement for a team winning
prize money and then withdrawing from F1. This came to light with the liquidation of the Prost team.
In March 2002, the Prost team attempts to transfer its ownership to Phoenix, after it has gone into recievership.
A letter sent from the liquidator of the Prost GP team, Maitre Cosme Rogeau, states:
We, the undersigned, being the duly authorized representatives of the Transferor
and the Transferee as these terms are used in the 1998 Concorde Agreement Schedule 10
clause 6 (c)(iv), hereby confirm that we mutually desire to transfer and have
transferred the benefits to which the Transferor is or may be entitled to the Transferee
as required by the 1998 Concorde Agreement. We also wish to confirm that we have transferred
all rights enjoyed by Prost Grand Prix SA in its entry in the 2002 FIA Formula One World
Championship to Phoenix Finance Limited.
[20]
The revenue from TV rights is partially distributed to teams using a points system derived from historical performances.
It is believed that points are awarded for:
* Placing in the constructors' championship (last three years) ("column one")
* Number of years in Formula One (1 year = 4 points, 10 years = 165 points, Ferrari's 50 years = 1200 points) ("column two")
* Number of constructors' titles (25 points each)
* Number of constructors' championship points (last two years x 2)
* Number of constructors' championship points (all-time / 10)
* Number of wins in last two years (10 points each)
* All-time number of wins (1 point each)
Teams with points get a proportional share of the money. There is also a separate pool of money distributed based
on the previous year's constructors' championship.
[21]
There also appears to be a seperately listed prize pool for transportation - available only to teams which score
points in the previous half year.
The pool of money distributed based on the previous years constructors championship is described by Ron Dennis:
But to give you a round figure, just round figures, the team who wins
the World Championship - so not any specific nominated team, the team that
wins the World Championship in the preceding year - versus the team that
is the last in the World Championship of the preceding year, receives
double the amount of money. And the money is not huge, in round figures
$22 million to $11 million. You might not feel that that is particularly
equitable but maybe you all will be quite surprised that the spread, and
it's relatively equalised-out in increments from the tenth team to the first team.
[22]
A simplified explanation of the total money flow is as follows:
Bernie Ecclestone's promotion company, FOM, gets revenue from several sources, including
- circuit owners fees (several tens of millions of dollars each for the right to run a race)
- circuit advertising
- television rights paid by TV stations who wish to televise races
(The circuit owners get to keep ticket money, about the only income they have)
The total income to FOM is said to be about $800 Million. 23% of this total is the television money.
This television money is then split 3 ways:
- 30% Formula One Administration (owns the broadcast rights)
- 23% International Sportsworld Communications (markets the broadcast rights)
- 47% The F1 teams, as various sorts of prize money. (GPWC are said to be willing to give up 80%)