Lewis Hamilton's new team Ferrari got over $100 million more prize money compared to the 2024 F1 champion McLaren: Reports

It is reported that Ferrari received $100 million more in prize money than the 2024 champion constructor McLaren F1. The sport's highest league's owner Liberty Media made around $3.6 billion in revenue last year out of which around $1.266 billion was reserved for the 10 teams as a combined payment for the 2024 season.

At the end of each season, F1 distributes prize money to all competing teams based on their Constructors' Championship position from 24 races. With McLaren winning its first championship since 1998 last year, many had expected it to jump the list and be on top by getting the highest prize money. However, as per The Race, Ferrari topped the list of the teams getting the highest prize money despite finishing behind the Woking-based outfit in the 2024 season.

In terms of the prize pot, the British team came out on top and earned $132.9 million while the Maranello-based outfit earned $124.4 million. However, the Italian team, which will have Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc as its driver pairing in 2025, got an additional $63.3 million as a historic bonus. It has competed in every F1 season thus far for 75 years, so it enjoys some special privileges in the series.

In the final total, Ferrari topped the list with prize money of $251 million, over $100 million more than reigning champion McLaren, which came in fourth on the list behind Mercedes and Red Bull, with $149.8 million in its kitty.

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Lewis Hamilton gives his opinion on starting his Ferrari journey

Speaking in the pre-race press conference of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton said:

“I think this is very reminiscent probably of my first year. For all those years I’ve gone up and down the paddock, looking at and seeing the red garage, and now I’m actually in the red garage. It’s a really nice feeling. It’s about getting into a season and getting into a good rhythm. I’m still learning this new car that’s quite a lot different from what I’ve driven for all my previous career, in the sense of Mercedes power.

Coming to Ferrari, power is something kind of new, a different vibration, a different feel. It’s a different way of working. The whole team works completely differently. You’re looking at things from a different perspective, which makes it exciting and challenging. This is definitely the most exciting period of my life, so I’m really just enjoying it.”

Hamilton is signed on with the Italian team until the end of the 2026 F1 season with an option in his contract to extend for a further year.