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Details of new Concorde Agreement emerge

ESPNF1 Staff
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Bernie Ecclestone: "The teams are going to get around m more" © Sutton Images
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Details of the next Concorde Agreement have emerged in the Guardian newspaper, which include a one-off windfall payment to encourage the teams to sign.

On Friday Ecclestone told CNN that the teams had agreed to sign up to Formula One until 2020, although Mercedes' exact position remains unclear. As an incentive the 12 outfits will share a payment of £115 million for agreeing to the deal, according the Guardian.

The report says that the annual prize fund will stay at 47.5% of F1's underlying profit, but that new bonuses mean an extra 7.5% will be shared between the top three teams of the past three years, plus 5% for Ferrari due to its historical status. Bernie Ecclestone told the newspaper: "The teams are going to get around $70m more."

There is also an option for the calendar to be extended beyond 20 races, which would provide a significant boost F1's revenues. "We have flexibility to go beyond 20 races," Ecclestone said. "We have got four or five places waiting to do something." The report said 22 or 23 races per season could become a reality.

Under the new agreement the teams can quit F1 if the underlying profits fall below $715m a year (they're currently at $1.17bn) and Ferrari can quit if control of the company changes and profits drop by 25% in the next two years.

Getting the teams to sign up to the Concorde Agreement is crucial if Formula One wants to go ahead with its plans to float on the Singapore stock exchange.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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