Formula One and the $100 coat hanger

In London, Kevin Eason reported it is a "little-known fact that F1’s 11 teams have to pay race promoters for their hospitality suites, down to the hire of cutlery and even coat-hangers, which angered one team manager to the point of fury." Teams face an average charge of almost Â£186,000 ($296,500) "just to go racing at each of the 12 'flyaway' events from Brazil to Japan."

That equates to Â£1.8M ($2.9M) a race on average "collected from the 11 teams by circuits desperately trying to offset the fees" — ranging up to Â£25M ($40M) annually. A source said, "We are effectively paying a tax on racing. The promoters have to make their money somewhere and they make it from the teams.

It is like a football team turning up at Old Trafford for a match against Manchester United and discovering they have to pay for the changing rooms, the hot water and the soap." One team said it was asked for almost Â£9,000 ($14,300) to "hire three forklift trucks to move around their boxes and pallets at one race."

The source added, "It would have been cheaper to buy one and drive it into the river when we were finished." At another race, "the hire of a fridge" was equivalent to Â£1,200 ($1,913) for the weekend LONDON TIMES