High price of Suzuka showdown

(29-Oct-98) - Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix may prove the most exciting of
the season - It could also be the most expensive.

As the season comes to its close there is everything at stake. Ferrari take
on McLaren to see who will end the year with the Drivers and the
Constructors championship and Bridgestone battle Goodyear in the tyre war.
None of the above have spared any expense.

The cost has almost certainly been escalated by the five-week gap between
Luxembourg and Sunday's race in Japan. This was caused by the cancellation
of the Portuguese Grand Prix, dropped from the calendar due to uncompleted
safety work.

With time on their hands than usual to improve and alter their cars, both
Ferrari and McLaren (more so the former) have conducted almost non-stop
testing programmes over the last month, Ferrari notching up almost 30 days
at Mugello and Maranello.

The overall cost of the Ferrari test is difficult to estimate, money is a
closely-guarded secret in motorsport, but taking into account running
nearly 2,000 staff, drivers' expenses, testing expenses, repairs, engines,
tyres, hotels and travel, the team are unlikely to see much change from $33
million.

Even Ferrari's seemingly 'unlimited' budget will have taken a big hit over
the last month, but it would appear that cost is no object to the bosses at
Maranello who are desperate to see the drivers title return to Ferrari
after an absence of 19 years.

Although McLaren do not have their own test track like Ferrari, and have
therefore had to hire Barcelona for their testing, there have been fewer
people running the show. Their costs are unlikely to have been quite as
extravagant.

Tyre suppliers Bridgestone estimate their outlay in the closing quarter of
the season at $30 million. That works out at more than $116 million for the
year.

As for the cost of the race itself, McLaren and Ferrari will pay for three
jumbo jets filled with up to 30 tonnes of equipment to fly the long haul to
Japan, as well as transporting the 60 to 80 team members who will stay in
hotels during the event. That's around another $12 million each.

The teams will be desperate for Friday morning, when at the first test they
will get some indication as to if their intense testing has paid off.

With a collective spending of around $83 million they will certainly hope so.

There are those who might be a little more cautious money this year. Last
October, in the aftermath of Jerez, one million baseball caps and T-shirts
proclaiming Schumacher as 'The 1997 world champion' had to be disposed of.

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