How much does a place on the Formula 1 grid actually cost? As well as all the research and development, construction and operational expenses, teams also have to pay the FIA an up-front entry fee for the year - and it varies a lot up and down the paddock!
This year, Mercedes will paying $4.6m in entry fees for privilege of taking part in the 2018 Formula 1 world championship. While that's a still rather a lot to anyone, it's actually more than half a million less than they paid in 2016.
The reason for the reduction is that the title battle was a much closer run affair last year than it had been previously. While they still picked up their fourth consecutive title double, the victory wasn't as overwhelming has it had been before.
Under the current 2013 sporting regulations governing Formula 1, all teams pay a base entry fee of $516,128 indexed by the US consumer price index of annual inflation. But the champions also have to pay a further $6,194 per point scored, while other teams pay the discount rate of $5,161. The amount has to be paid upfront by teams in November.
Mercedes won the constructors title with 668 points in 2017, compared with 765 the previous year. That means a reduction in entry fees of $600,818 - the smallest bill for Mercedes since 2014.
But Ferrari are paying the price of their improved form in 2017. Maranello will be coughing up $639,964 more this year. Overall, Force India, Renault, Haas and Sauber are all paying slightly more this year, while Red Bull, Williams, Toro Rosso and McLaren are paying less. In total, the FIA is raking in $16,276,544 in entry fees.
F1 Technical has crunched the numbers and come up with a list of all the entry fees being paid by the ten teams lining up on the Formula 1 grid this year...
