Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that the new American-owned Haas team "will not share in any" of the $900M prize money paid by the series this year, according to Christian Sylt for FORBES. Ecclestone said, "There's no money in the first year. It's not the end of the world for Haas. When they come into Formula One they know. They asked to come in. Nobody asked them." Autosport recently reported that the team has yet to sign a contract with the F1 Group, which would entitle it to a share of the prize money, and Ecclestone said that "Haas hasn’t got a commercial agreement because they are new." Prize money is "determined by a team’s position in the standings at the end of the year." Teams which finish in the top 10 are the "only ones which receive prize money and, crucially, it is paid during the year after the season it is earned in." So this year the teams will receive money based on their positions in the '15 season. As Haas was not racing last year "it is not entitled to any performance-based prize money payments" in '16. However, in previous years, "the newest outfits each received a discretionary payment" of $10M which was paid irrespective of the previous year’s results. It "was unclear whether Haas would receive this so its prize money hopes remained alive." However, Ecclestone has "put the brakes on them." Ecclestone: "If we want to give money to people we give it but Haas won't get any at the end of this year" (FORBES, 3/19). It is unclear whether Haas F1 calculated its budget with the $10M start-up payment for its first season. Team Owner Gene Haas currently uses the team as a marketing tool for his CNC machine tool brand Haas Automation. A hit to the bottom line could increase the pressure to find a primary sponsor, which range in value between $42M-$70M annually, according to an industry source. A spokesperson for the team told SBD Global, "Haas F1 Team is currently negotiating its commercial agreement and won’t comment publicly" (HJ Mai, SBD Global).
