Honda is F1’s big spender
That is the information of 'BusinessF1' magazine, which claimed that a gigantic budget totaling (US) $560 million was splashed out on the Brackley based BAR-Honda team.
It must be remembered, however, that Honda recently acquired 100 per cent of its now eponymous grand prix outfit.
Major expenditure on a new state of the art wind tunnel would also account for a chunk of the more than half-billion dollar figure, and Honda reportedly also chipped in to help Jenson Button buy his way out of a Williams deal.
In a more normal year, Honda would have spent about $250 million in 2005, followed closely by Mercedes ($236m) and Toyota ($212m). BMW ploughed in $160 million, while Renault won both drivers' and constructors' titles by spending just $113m.
These figures are estimated based on what the car manufacturer, rather than what the team on a whole, spent.
It is therefore less astonishing that Fiat spent a mere $10 million on Ferrari's F1 program this year. Maranello's real budget is pumped up by huge sponsors including Vodafone and Marlboro, with the latter paying Michael Schumacher's salary.