How much does an F1 car cost? Prices of the best motorsport cars revealed

F1 is the pinnacle of motorsports and the cars have certainly proved it. Traveling at speeds higher than 350 km/h (217mph) and still being much safer than an average road car, there is surely some secret to what goes into the car.

There are indeed a lot of components that make an F1 car special. It is interesting to note that the steering wheel has more purpose than just steering the car. It serves as a hub for all the controls on the car that include brake pressure, bias, engine braking, radio communications, race modes, ERS, DRS, Neutral gear, pit limiter, drinking button, gears, clutch, etc. Wheels on all teams are uniquely designed, but all perform these primary functions.

There is a reason why F1 has so many sponsors running around the teams. A single car costs a fortune; the steering wheel alone, for example, costs $50,000 along with many other crucial parts that make the cars so outstanding. There have been newer additions in cars, such as the halo (made of titanium) that was introduced in 2018 (costs $17,000) to further increase the safety of the drivers. Although it significantly increases the cost of the car, it has proven to be of extreme importance during incidents with Charles Leclerc (2018), Romain Grosjean (2020), Lewis Hamilton (2021), and Guanyu Zhou (2022).

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How much does each component of an F1 car cost?

It can only be a dream for a common person to own a Formula 1 car given the massive costs. Many components that make up the car, including the chassis, carbon fiber parts, halo, steering wheel, wings, etc. The final cost of a single F1 car costs around $12 million. Here is a detailed breakdown of how much each part of a Formula 1 car costs:

Part of the Car	Estimated Cost
Engine (PU)	$10.5 million
Fuel Tank	$140,000
Gearbox	$400,000
Hydraulics	$170,000
Chassis (Carbon Fibre)	$650,000 - $700,000
Frontwing	$150,000
Rearwing	$85,000
Tires (a single set)	$2,700
Steering Wheel	$50,000
Halo (Titanium)	$17,000
Total Cost	$12.2 million

It is apparent that the engine is the costliest part of the car. This is because these are the most efficient engines fitted on a vehicle in the current world. Moreover, since 2014, F1 cars have been using V6 turbo-hybrid engines that use a special 'E10' fuel. It is a mix of 90% fuel and 10% renewable ethanol.

Prior to this, the cars used V8 engines, but they moved to the turbo-hybrid to push forward in their mission of accomplishing fuel efficiency. It is expected that by 2026, the sport will introduce completely renewable fuel which will have a positive impact on the environment. The cost of the engines then, however, might fluctuate again.