F1 Engine costs have doubled

AR1.com has been telling its readers for two years that the horrible sounding F1 engines have doubled in costs and are driving fans to the exits out of sheer boredom.

But wait, the familiar high pitched scream can still be heard in some areas of the paddock… the offices of team finance directors.

Though enjoying something of a renaissance, certainly compared to where it was a couple of years back, Williams owes much of its recent success to the inspired move to Mercedes power units.

However, the move came at a price.

"Costs went up by about $30+ million per year and the reasons for that were three-fold," Williams finance director, Alan Kinch, told the Independent.

"The first one and the most significant one of all of them was the increase in costs in the power unit. So, moving from the traditional V8 engine to the new V6 hybrid essentially doubled the costs of the power unit and that was the biggest chunk."

Thankfully however, barring a further upheaval of the engine regulations, Kinch believes costs will not increase further.

"(Williams) have got a long-term contract with Mercedes," he said. "I wouldn't say it is at a fixed rate but it is at a stable rate year on year."