McLaren entry fee sky rockets for F1 2026 after championship success

McLaren will see its entry costs skyrocket for 2026 off the back of its double-championship-winning campaign in F1 2025.

The Woking squad wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship for the second time in as many seasons, while Lando Norris chalked up his first drivers’ crown.

F1 2026 entry fees revealed

With Norris’ teammate, Oscar Piastri, third in the title race for a combined 833 points, McLaren is estimated to be up for over $7.7 million for its place on the F1 grid next season.

For F1 2025, McLaren paid $6.1 million for its entry off the back of amassing 666 points over the course of 2024. It’s entry costs therefore looks to have increased by more than $1.5 million.

Each year, teams are required to pay an entry fee made up of two components. The first is a flat fee on top of which a per-point figure is added.

While no figures for the F1 2026 season are available, a product of the rulebook being overhauled as part of the all-new regulations being introduced next season, a figure can be extrapolated from the 2025 fees.

Typically, costs associated with entries are accelerated in line with the Consumer Price Index, which saw costs increase by 3.4 per cent from F1 2024 to 2025.

Applying that same increase to the 2025 entry fees for the 2026 season, the flat fee rises to $703,330, with another $7,030 per point added on top. For the championship winner, the per-point figure is $8,438.

The 2026 campaign is the start of a new era in F1, with significant technical rule changes set to come into force.

It will also see the addition of an 11th team, Cadillac, which will be required to submit its entry like any other team.

However, as it did not compete this year, it amassed no points, and therefore will have to fork over only the baseline fee of just over $680,000.

There is a catch, though.

While Cadillac will have to pay the FIA for its entry onto the grid, it has also agreed to pay reparations to its rivals by way of an anti-dilution fee.

A $500 million sum is payable, with an equal share of that finding its way to each of the teams that competed in F1 2025.

The anti-dilution fee was introduced under the previous Concorde Agreement (a new commercial Concorde comes into force next season, with work ongoing on the Governance agreement) with the aim of compensating teams for any potential loss of prize money for five years.

Logic goes that, by the fifth year, any team should be introducing such value that it becomes essentially cost-neutral to its rivals.

Helping offset the costs associated with the entry fees payable by each team for next year is the prize money paid out based on their finishing positions.

Through 2026, teams will enjoy payments based on their 2025 Constructors’ Championship position, with forecasts suggesting a $60 million injection for Cadillac, and $120 million for McLaren (with other bonuses payable elsewhere).

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