How much money does a Formula 1 race car cost? Specifications and top speed
With their cutting-edge technology and engineering solutions, F1 single-seaters are extremely costly to produce. Expensive carbon fibre components and assembly are just a fraction of the cost.
Due to the high level of technology involved - on top of expensive components and intricate engineering solutions and assembly, Formula racing cars are staggeringly expensive to manufacture.
In fact, putting an exact price on a current F1 single-seater from design to final production is extremely difficult, since the cost of each team for its development is different. Even something as basic as a set of tyres command prices of around $2,700. The most expensive components include the power unit (approximately $11million) and the chassis - usually made of carbon fibre, which has a market price of around $15 per pound (the average F1 car weighs around 1,759 lbs) so there’s nearly another $27,000.
For the 2024 season alone, a team can spend over $150 million - this includes transportation costs and team expenses (less driver salaries and some other exceptions).
Calculating the car cost
Considering that the research and development expenses are different in each team, it is tough to calculate the exact value of each Formula 1 car. However, taking into account what certain elements cost, it can be deducted that the price is extremely high.
For example, the steering wheel, which has been an entire computer for a long time, is priced at $50,000, a set of wings (front and rear) around $200,000 dollars, depending on their complexity.
These figures, which are extremely high, are the most affordable, so to speak, because the chassis, engine and transmission are the most expensive components. It is said that the price of each of the three units allowed per season is around $10 million.
Another way to deduce the price of an F1 car is the repair costs after an accident. Remember last season, the mishap by Guanyu Zhou had a repair cost of $2.7 million for Alfa Romeo.
How much does a Formula 1 car cost today?
If these figures are taken into account, it is possible to deduce that a Formula 1 racing car from the 2023 season is worth anything between $12 million-$18 million. Even the display or scale units of the single-seaters have extremely high prices. Without having a real size and much less a genuine power unit, an official F1 at 1:8 scale has a price of $178,000.
- Front wing: $150,000
- Brakes: $200,000 ($50,000 x 4)
- Steering wheel $50,000
- Halo: $15,000
- Monocoque: $600,000
- Fuel tank: $115,000
- Power unit: $10,500,000
- Rear wing: $75,000
- Gear box: $450,000
- Hydraulic system: $150,000
TOTAL: $12,305,000
Specifications and top speed for a F1 car
An F1 car can reach a top spped of 233 MPH (375 KMH), but rarely do the cars reach that speed due to track limitations. The average speed of a Formula 1 car is around 200 MPH (313 KMH). The minimum weight of an F1 car is 798 kg. The engine siez is 1.6 liter V6 and the car size is 5.63m x 2m x 0.95m.