Red Bull's £79m funding helps F1 team to chequered flag

Red Bull poured £79 million into its Formula One team in 2008 to help it achieve its best finish in the championship.

Revenue at the Milton Keynes team rose 26.1% to £123.5 million in the year to 31 December 2008. This was driven by an £800,000 year-on-year increase in the funding from the Red Bull drinks company and the doubling of the team's prize money to an estimated £24 million under a deal with F1's chief executive Bernie Ecclestone.

The increased funding helped Red Bull to a second place finish in 2009, as F1's cars are mainly designed and built the year before they are introduced.

Red Bull's motor racing spending is one of its biggest marketing costs. Last year the firm had sales of £3 billion.

The team's costs rose to £123.5 million, in line with the increase in its revenues. Research and development and design spending came to £48.2 million. Staff numbers on the F1 team and its design division increased by 40 to 594 and their pay totalled £37.6 million. It gave the team a pre-tax profit of £100,000 with its after-tax profit standing at £470,000 following a tax credit.

Red Bull missed out on victory in Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix after a spark plug problem knocked its lead driver Sebastian Vettel into fourth place.