Red Bull's latest financial statements reveal that the energy drink manufacturer "reduced its investment" in its championship-winning F1 team by $28.5M to $108.9M last year, according to Christian Sylt of AUTOWEEK. The decreased spending "turbocharged the drink manufacturer's return on investment from its involvement with F1 as its Red Bull Racing team took both the drivers' and constructors' championships for the third year running" in '12. In '12, Red Bull Racing's revenue "was almost the same as the previous year" at $286.7M. Likewise, "its costs remained stable" at $285.5M. So "how did Red Bull manage to reduce its spending on the team?" Red Bull Racing's prize money payment increased from an estimated $86.5M in '11 to $94.2M last year. According to F1's trade guide "Formula Money," Red Bull Racing was also paid a one-off bonus of $25M in '12 for signing a new commercial agreement with F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone. The agreement runs from '13 until the end of '20. The increase in prize money, "along with the signing bonus," came to $32.7M. This "allowed Red Bull to reduce its spending by nearly the same amount" (AUTOWEEK, 11/11).
