F1 constructors: Which team has the most titles, 2024 prize money and more

It was also quite a shock given the year started with Red Bull as the dominant force looking likely to claim a third title on the bounce.

This is the 67th constructors’ championship having started in 1958, eight years after the series commenced, as F1 wanted to recognise those who build and design the cars.

So here is all to know about the F1 constructors’ championship.

Which F1 team has won the most titles?

The Scuderia took its first crown in 1961, a year that was dominated by Ferrari as it won five of eight grands prix meaning it clinched the title with three rounds remaining. Lotus finished runner-up winning the other three races, but nothing was a match for the 156 that year as Phil Hill won the drivers’ championship taking two of Ferrari’s victories.

Ferrari won another constructors’ title in the 1960s, but 1964 was much more closely fought as it claimed the crown on the final day pipping British rivals BRM and Lotus.

Williams has not won since the turn of the century though, with Ferrari, Renault, Brawn, Red Bull, Mercedes and now McLaren all taking crowns from 2000. Red Bull was on course for its seventh championship this year until it suddenly dropped down the pecking order, while Lotus is the sixth team to have won five or more championships.

The British outfit was founded by the late great Colin Chapman and made its F1 debut in 1958, five years before it took its first constructors’ championship with 1963 being a double-winning season as Jim Clark claimed the drivers’ crown.

Race winner Mario Andretti, Lotus 79, Ronnie Peterson, Lotus 79

Photo by: David Phipps

That was the first of seven constructors’ titles across two decades for Lotus, as its last championship came in 1978 with Mario Andretti at the wheel. But Chapman’s fatal heart attack in 1982 saw the demise of Lotus with the team leaving the championship altogether in 1994.

In total, there have been 15 winners of the F1 constructors’ championship with Mercedes being the last first-time winner in 2014.

Why do F1 drivers’ and constructors’ title wins differ?

The drivers’ title is the most high-profile championship in F1 as fans pay more attention to it, but it is actually the constructors’ crown that has a bigger influence on a team’s future.

While a driver will understandably care more about the drivers’ championship, they are still contributing to the constructors’ crown and sometimes, in Red Bull’s case, they can harm their team’s chance.

In 2021, for example, Verstappen clinched his maiden drivers’ title yet Mercedes actually won the constructors’ championship because it had strong performances from both cars.

A similar situation has occurred in 2024. As ever, Verstappen has been strong for Red Bull but the Austrian outfit has failed to retain its constructors’ title due to poor performances from Perez, who finished eighth in the drivers’ standings while his team-mate clinched a fourth title.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

It also means Verstappen has joined Nelson Piquet as the only drivers to have twice won the drivers’ championship in a year their team didn’t claim the constructors’ title. For Piquet it happened in 1981 and 1983 as his Brabham squad finished second and third respectively.

In 1981, Piquet’s team-mate was Hector Rebaque who had a very poor season contributing just 11 points towards Brabham’s tally of 61, allowing Williams to comfortably win the championship thanks to Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann, who scored 46 and 49 points respectively.

Two years later meanwhile, Piquet’s team-mate was Riccardo Patrese who scored just 13 of Brabham’s 72 points. It resulted in world champions Ferrari and Renault coming ahead of the British squad thanks to all of their drivers finishing inside the championship top seven.

So, that shows why it is important to have a strong driver in both cars because teams arguably care more about the constructors’ title and a poor season from one side of the garage can harm a squad’s overall campaign.

How much prize money will teams earn after the 2024 F1 season?

Perez’s underperformance this year has proven costly for Red Bull, as it means the team is now facing an approximate $20million loss in prize money for its third-place finish in the championship and not first.

Every position counts in F1, whether it’s first, fifth or even last, because the higher up a team finishes the more money it will receive. And even though F1’s exact prize money split is secret, it is possible to gain a good estimation based on information in the public domain.

According to the Concorde Agreement, the contract which governs the championship, the team prize pot is 50% of F1’s commercial rights profit.

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W15, Oscar Piastri, McLaren MCL38, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-24, the rest of the field at the start

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Teams do not always receive 50% though, as after a certain point of revenue it is believed that Formula One Management’s percentage share rises. In 2022, for example, F1 generated revenues of $2.57 billion resulting in the prize pot being $1.157b which is approximately 45%.

The payments are not split equally either as Ferrari, for example, receives an extra payment, about 5%, for its historical significance having competed in every season since F1’s first in 1950.

There are also bonuses for past success like winning the championship, so it is understood that the bonus payments equate to an estimated 25% leaving the rest for 10 teams to split.

So based on last year, where team payments are expected to have totalled $1.25-1.3b meaning the prize pot was $1b, Red Bull received around $140m for winning the championship ahead of runner-up Mercedes on $131m.