Driving to Victory , Sunday, July 19, 2009 at 3:00 AM, in

Formula 1 has recently come under fire for the amount of money lavished by the top teams in the pursuit of the ultimate driving machine for their drivers in order to give them the best possible chance of winning the word title. Well established teams such as Ferrari and Renault have both produced world champions in years gone by as well as smaller teams with lower budgets - proving that spending money doesn't always guarantee success.
The Front Runners
The 2009 season so far has seen the most successful teams backed by large multinational companies. Brawn GP, backed by Mercedes are running away with the Championship, Red Bull Racing backed by Renault are second, with Toyota and Ferrari third and fourth respectively.
It is hard to compare what effect their on-track performance has on their commercial sales but the success of the Formula 1 teams are certainly helped by the funding from these huge companies. Mercedes has 3 teams in the championship, Brawn GP, McLaren and Force India.





Renault, Ferrari and Toyota all have two teams and BMW have one, completing the 10 team championships. These companies have invested a considerable amount of money into these teams which also acts as a form of advertising for them with millions of people seeing their logos each week.
Large Investment
It is no surprise that the companies that have decided to invest in the Formula 1 teams are some of the largest car firms in the world. These companies have the level of investment required to make it profitable and Formula 1 supporters from all around the world attend in their thousands to see the races and buy the merchandise which probably adds up to a healthy return.
There needed to be a large investment in the sport because of the rapid advances in technology and none of the companies have shied away. Mercedes invested heavily in Brawn GP and took a chance on a new type of car. This has certainly paid dividends with the team in first place in the constructors' championship and their two drivers occupying first and second in the drivers' championship.
The Future looks Bright
After resolving the problems with a few teams, after the FIA (The International Federation of Automobiles) threatened to put a cap on money spent, the future of F1 seems bright.




The motoring industry is on the up which should help the likes of Mercedes and BMW keep up their investment in their teams.
The number of fans attending races is increasing which is a great thing for the sport and the teams as they look to compete with other sports that may be more popular in certain countries.

Phil Adams-Wright covers many motoring based subjects such as: Car Finance, Welcome Car Credit & Used Car Loans.