Race week. It’s time for the 2022 Singapore GP, but before we get into this week’s conditions we’ll have a look at Germany, which could be without a Formula One driver next season.
It hasn’t happened in over 30 years. A country that has long had two Grand Prix races and in 2010 had seven F1 drivers say goodbye to Sebastian Vettel after this year’s season and Mick Schumacher did not have a contract for 2023.
The reason for Germany’s big loss is said to be money and former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher was recently asked, How much does it cost to get into F1?
– It costs between 130 and 150 million, answers Michael Schwacher’s younger brother.
Ralf Schumacher himself drove Formula 1 for ten years, for teams like Williams and Toyota. He also has a son who has worked his way up in several classes, but now he mostly competes in the German DTM.
– It is clear that no ordinary person can bear that. It is almost completely impossible. It’s possible to pay for the first few years, perhaps, when it comes to being in a club. There are lessons you can pay for, but then it gets tough.
How much does it cost to get to F1?
Ralph and his older brother Michael, who is seven years older than him, grew up in completely different circumstances. Their father Rolf owned a go-kart track and the boys were able to drive as best they could. They can pick up someone else’s tired tires and put them in a landfill, and buy used engines for a pittance. This is what Michael Schumacher said in the documentary released a year ago.
– We were lucky. There were sponsors and we were also lucky because the go-karts were cheaper at the time and the level wasn’t nearly as high. We grew up on a small car circuit and took advantage of this advantage, says Ralf Schumacher for formula 1.de.
According to Ralf Schwacher, a season in Formula 4 today costs about three million crowns, a season in Formula 3 up to 13 million crowns, and Formula 2, the series under F1, between 20 and 30 million crowns for one season. It does not guarantee a place in F1, however, but there are a few drivers who switch from Formula 2 to F1 and have 20 drivers’ places. For example, last year’s champion Oscar Piastre did not compete this year but was a reserve driver and this year’s Brazilian champion Filip Drogovic appears to have met the same fate.
The huge cost increase in racing means that most drivers who make it to Formula 1 today either come through a support program from one of the big teams, such as Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton or George Russell. Or do they have a powerful sponsor behind them, like Yuki Tsunoda or Sergio Perez. Or they have a family with strong financial resources, such as Lando Norris, Nicholas Latifi or Lance Stroll.
You can hear how Latifi and Stroll got into F1 on last week’s episode of the F1 podcast “Plattan i Mattan”. A new episode is coming on Wednesday as usual.
Short news ahead of Singapore GP 2022
Last week there was definitely no racing, but a lot happened in Formula One anyway. There has been a lot of movement in the driver market, a review of how it looks between drivers for F1 2023, and the length of drivers’ contracts I found on the F1 blog last week. I will update it when new things happen.
In addition, a calendar has been introduced for the F1 World Cup 2023. It will be the season that starts in March and runs until the end of November. A 24-race season that includes three races in the United States and one in China. If the Covid situation does not allow for a race in China, there will likely be 23 heats.