F1: Absolute Car Feel

Chapter 282 Income
$1124?

Wu Shi received his final income for 2015, and the amount was indeed larger than expected.

His annual salary is only $300 million.

In other words, the majority of the revenue comes from points rewards, championship rewards, podium rewards, and commercial activities.

"What is the team's expected profit share this year?" Wu Shi asked.

"Around $9700 million."

"hiss."

Wu Shi took more than one-tenth of the amount, which must be quite a headache.

"But it's also thanks to you that the second-place team gets 1000 million more in prize money than the third-place team."

“Then I don’t need to guess to know that Ferrari must have won the most.” Wu Shi shrugged.

This is one of the reasons why Sauber and Force India have been complaining to the EU about unfair F1 revenue sharing.

"Of course, they have at least $1 million in long-term bonuses, which is more than Williams has in total."

Therefore, Ferrari is the true loyal player in F1.

"Also, Power India is in fifth place but only earned $6700 million, while McLaren, in ninth place, earned $8200 million."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let the team worry about it."

After saying a few words, Wu Shi rubbed his temples.

Just hearing these huge numbers has already blurred his concept of money.

As he had predicted, Williams did indeed have difficulty paying his salary immediately.

Firstly, in 2015, the West Bromwich Albion's total expenditure reached £1.3 million, equivalent to approximately $1.99 million.

The Westbrook team's total revenue for the year has not yet been released, but Wu Shih's management team estimates it to be around $1.68 million.
This resulted in losses of up to $3100 million.

Not to mention, with Wu Shi's victory, the details of his 2016 contract need to be renegotiated—Wu Shi's base salary will increase significantly.

Wu Shi is now highly sought after; every caravan in Weichang is trying to contact him.

In the past few days, a bunch of friends who hadn't been in contact with him before have appeared on Sid's side. These friends, through various twists and turns, always end up joining some kind of car team.

In fact, Susie talked to him about quite a few things during the team gathering.

After the awards ceremony, Toto also came to celebrate his world championship victory separately.

He estimated that Mercedes would have already taken action if it weren't for the fact that Mercedes finalized driver contracts in 2016 with huge penalty clauses.

He believes that the real battle for dominance in the driver market will begin at the end of next year.

Ferrari didn't contact her separately; Martina just mentioned that someone was talking to her about him.

Wu Shi, this year's dark horse, caught most teams off guard.

He definitely wouldn't go with the small car team; that would be beneath his dignity—it's not that he's being pretentious, but rather that doing so would be harmful from a purely financial perspective.

"Ugh!"

Wu Shi felt that thinking about these things was much more tiring than driving.

I should start preparing to go back to China.

First, there's Geely Group, which Wu Zhenlin said is the most interested automaker in China.

Moreover, Geely is currently pursuing its own globalization development strategy.

After their 2010 acquisition of Volvo Cars in a "David and Goliath" deal, they have largely digested the company over the years.

Some time ago, they released the Lynk & Co concept brand, whose core architecture and other aspects are derived from the absorption and integration of Volvo technology.

This concept brand is actually targeting the European market, so strategic deployment in Europe has also been put on the agenda for Geely.

He will need to prepare a lot of things after returning to China. These are things he doesn't need to do personally, but he will need to be involved in.

If he simply washes his hands of the business, then it's hard to say who will ultimately own these two companies.

He didn't want to be taken advantage of and then help others count the money, so he had to participate now and learn the relevant knowledge. On December 6th, Wu Shi attended the Williams sponsors' meeting, meeting with Williams' title sponsor Martini, long-term partner Oris, and others.

Both of Oris's co-CEOs were present at the scene.

“We expressed our intention to create a watch based on Chinese culture back in March of this year, but we did not expect you to have such an outstanding performance this year.”

“So, we’re planning to develop a limited-edition collaboration with you next year,” Rolf Studer said.

“Oh, that’s quite a pleasant surprise,” Wu Shi said with a smile.

“We have already agreed on a contract extension for next year,” Claire said.

“This is a gift we prepared for you. We apologize for not being able to give it to you on your birthday.” Rolf Studer took out the box.

Wu Shi was somewhat confused.

“It’s a nice gift. You should thank Mr. Rolf Studer.” Claire maintained her smile.

Wu Shi accepted it politely, presumably because it contained a luxurious wristwatch.

He wasn't particularly interested in watches, but as a public figure, he still had to wear one when doing business in public. He had previously worn Oris's BIG GROWN series.

Now that someone has given me a new one, I'll wear the new one.

Oris and Westbrook have a very long history of collaboration; for example, their logo has always been on the head of the FW37.

Although Oris cannot compare with big names like Rolex, it is now popular among many young people.

Of course, some people might say they're just a watch case manufacturer, using generic chips, but their looks and build quality are still very competitive at the same price point.

After exchanging a few more words, another Williams business representative spoke up:
"They want to enter your country and see you as a great opportunity, so they've even increased their sponsorship fees significantly."

"I really don't know much about watches," Wu Shi shrugged.

"Haha, well, you really are naive. I don't think you want to stay here for even a second longer."

"You have a good eye for people," Wu Shi laughed.

"When are you planning to return to your motherland? There's an old saying there: 'To achieve success and not return home is like walking down a dark road in fine clothes.'"

“Yes! There’s a saying: ‘Returning home in glory is like wearing brocade at night.’” Wu Shi repeated in Chinese.

"Oh, I've been frantically learning about your culture lately, since I might need to travel there for work sometime."

"Hmm? Have any companies contacted you?" Wu Shi asked.

"Haha, of course, your reputation has made many companies unusually active."

Wu Shi picked up his cup, drank some water, and realized it was indeed time to go back.

The sponsor conference secured numerous sponsorship deals for Williams for next year.

Prices are generally trending upwards, which is also a benefit of being a champion.

However, Claire was still somewhat dissatisfied with this sponsorship. She felt that a team with the world's best driver deserved a higher sponsorship fee.

However, in recent years, the major sponsors of F1 have been mostly giants in the technology and finance sectors.

The exposure of traditional industries in F1 has gradually declined, which is why many tobacco and alcohol companies withdrew from sponsorship in recent years.

Sponsorship from tech giants often comes with technological collaborations.

On December 9, Wu Shi was preparing to return to China when Claire told him that the team was willing to accept technical sponsorship from the car company if possible.

These words stunned Wu Shi, and Xi De, who was standing next to him, was also stunned.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Williams isn't a factory team, so they don't have as many concerns about partnering with car manufacturers.

Perhaps the only thing to consider is the collaboration with Mercedes in the engine field.

But this does not prevent the team from collaborating with other car brands in other areas.

With this thought in mind, Wu Shi suddenly felt that returning to China and meeting with Geely Group might lead to a good outcome.

(End of this chapter)