While the aim in Formula 1 is to score as many points as possible, they also come at a cost, as Mercedes discovered when it paid its entry fee to the FIA for the 2017 championship, following a record-breaking season in which it scored an astonishing 765 points.
All teams wishing to compete in the championship must pay a base entry fee of $516,128, irrespective of their classification in the previous year’s standings.
Additional entry fees are based on points scored during the previous season and the winning constructor pays a premium of $1,033 per point more compared to their rivals.
Consequently Mercedes, having cruised to a third straight title, has paid $6,194 per point scored, while the other teams have paid $5,161.
Therefore Mercedes' entry fee for the 2017 season has set the company back $5,254,538 – $384,028 more than it paid in 2016 – and more than double the $2.5m third-placed Ferrari has been charged by the FIA to get its cars on the official entry list.
Red Bull has had to pay almost $1.5m more than it did the previous campaign, as a result of its achievements in 2016, compared to its disappointing 2015 season, the biggest rise of any team.
Williams’ fee, meanwhile, has dropped by over $600,000 after its slide down the pecking order, the largest year-on-year drop.
Full breakdown of 2017 entry fees:
| # | Team | Points | Entry Fee |
| 1 | Mercedes | 765 | $5,254,538 |
| 2 | Red Bull | 468 | $2,931,476 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 398 | $2,570,206 |
| 4 | Force India | 173 | $1,408,981 |
| 5 | Williams | 138 | $1,228,346 |
| 6 | McLaren | 76 | $908,364 |
| 7 | Toro Rosso | 63 | $841,271 |
| 8 | Haas | 29 | $665,797 |
| 9 | Renault | 8 | $557,416 |
| 10 | Sauber | 2 | $526,450 |
| 11 | Manor | 1 | $521,289 |
