i love how you keep coming up with topics that never were in my mind but i keep clicking, being intrigued, and honestly just impressed by your knowledge and connection every time hahaha Keep it up!
The Pinnacle of Motorsports requires the Pinnacle of accommodations which gets the Pinnacle of pricing. And the Pinnacle of motor sports photographers covering the whole thing. 💯
Have you ever done a vid of your total annual costs Kim? If not, would be interesting. I know you often divulge them per vid but one summary would good
Kym has done a video of what it would cost to attend all the races in a low-end and also in a high-end way. Very informative! Of course, that was for 22 races, I believe.
I was staying at a long-term hotel in-between apartements in Austin. During the GP weekend, I saw McLaren F1 team SUVs parked there. It's one of the cheapest places to stay in Austin, but I think pretty good and clean for the price. less than $60/night for a few nights
When I went to the Monaco Grand Prix a few years ago, I stayed in the neighboring town of Menton. I met the Transport Driver for Stroll’s car and a few mechanics Friday night and had some beers with them. They said they can’t afford to stay in the city of Monaco so get cheaper places nearby.
Most would almost certainly stay in motorhomes near the tracks in places like Spa, Zandvoort and Spielberg where there isn't really a large build up of luxury offerings. I read previously that some teams would just rent motorhome(s) for the entire length of the European race calendar and the teams would drive them from one location to another between races for the drivers to stay in. They might not always be used on every race weekend (Monaco for example) but they would be available.
I have to go to Montreal during the Grand Prix weekend (not for the race). I still haven't decided what I'll do without for a few months to pay for that hotel room.
I stayed in Hilton Jufair area in Bahrain ( only hotel available at the time) i saw Redbull crew in the lobby , usually when a F1 race is held prices go up in that weekend
This is an extremely high budget for hotels per year, I've been wondering, who pays YOU for following the circus around the world every year? Do you have a separate employer? Are your wages and travel costs paid by someone or do you shell out of your own pocket? I would assume this is your fulltime job?
@@shrimpinpatit's race weekend. They won't care who stays there because the rooms are filled with race goers, media, teams etc. they don't have to advertise and people will pay the jacked up prices anyway and it's the teams themselves who book and pay for the accommodation usually.
@@shrimpinpat Some teams have hotel sponsors as well, like McLaren and Hilton, Mercedes and Marriot, etc. If they don't have a sponsor then they are probably paying full price, which on f1 weekends is 2-4x the regular rate (and it's the team of course, not the driver).
Most of the teams have sponsors. When I was in Singapore last year Ferrari had a deal with Marina Bay Sands. Mercedes have Marriott on their car and race suits.
Kym, not sure if you have done a video on this before, but how do you do all of your accommodations and airfare. Do you plan yourself or does F1 do this for you.
Are they required to stay at their sponsors hotels? When I was in Miami it seemed half of Merc was at the Ritz South Beach but the drivers were elsewhere... less busy maybe Edition or St Regis Coral Gables area? Idk
Nice selection of hotels near race tracks. In Monaco Columbus Hotel is not crazy expensive in normal times (from 300€ to 500€), but they charge more for special event such as the GP. It has been bought by Hilton.
would be interesting to see the environmental impact from hauling the F1 equipment around the world, when they want to put the whole "hybrid cars and fuels" on the pedestal for marketing.
I've had the pleasure of working with 1 of the teams for the past 2 years as an engineer. They put all of us in hotels, drivers are usually in a home, like an Airbnb.
I remember watching a documentary on red bull, it focused on christian and he mentioned a driver putting in a reciept for a €3 bottle of water, so i can only imagine the mini bar bill and room service bills they rack up and pass on to the teams.
G'day Kym! Thanks for all the great and relevant information you share with everyone, very informative and always interesting. quick ?? How does everyone and especially the drivers deal with 'Jetlag' traveling so much of the year ?? cheers Colm
I’m sure the drivers have sleep cordinators. I know in American football everything in the hotel and plane are manage to make sure the drivers get a good night sleep , all the way down to the curtains they use for windows . You need complete darkness and a rigid schedule to fight off jet lag
Hi kym greetings from Thailand I stayed in a small family run hotel in spa in the mid 80s Hotel was OK comfortable ut the food was stunning stay passionate 😊
If they have a good accountant, nothing. It's a business expense for a start and there are many other loopholes a good accountant will know to bring down their overall personal expenses. They may pay when they stay but by the end of their financial year it will be nothing
The Silverstone hotel doesnt have aircon. Dont need Aircon for the 3 days a year the sun comes out in the UK, be grateful for the central heating the 8 months we need it
I'm a F1 fan, I love the sport. However, what with the fear of homelessness (I've no car and can't afford my mortgage anymore after a stroke) hearing about these excessive lifestyles make me seriously reconsider our priorities in life!
These guys do have their priorities straight. They take care of themselves and they race. 8000 US dollars for a few nights at a hotel isn’t anything to them. Not because they have so much money but because its a basic thing to them: a place to sleep when you’re racing in another country.
I am sorry to hear about what has happened to you and can't imagine how you must feel. The reality though is that people's priorities are based on the situations that they find themselves in. F1 drivers make up such a small percentage of the worlds population, 20 or so out of 8,118,835,999 people (8.1 Billion) and they have a job to do, albeit sport, but because it is such an elite sport, the pinnacle of sports, and there are so few of them they get millions of dollars to do it. Our view of other people's priorities are based on our own perceptions. What one should rather say is that they must be grateful for what they are able to achieve, earn and accomplish; which I think they do. Anyone who questions F1 driver's priorities should ask themselves: Would I like to find myself in the situation that Michael Schumacher currently finds himself in? I would not. I am more grateful that I am rather "me" who is able to type this reply and able to watch and enjoy F1 and the see the posts by Kym, even though I cannot afford to go to a race. But once again I hope things take a turn for the better regarding your situation, and that maybe someday you might be able to see a real race.
@@Chatta-Ortega yeah it’s fucked. The F1 calendar was out for a while before the SEC published the fixtures so they could’ve played Texas away that week.
@@KymIllman thank you for your reply. Very much appreciated. If I may I would like to rephrase the question. In my first question I mean just for the drivers expenses, not the rest of the team. Also I had in mind that the expenses in traveling are covered by the team for every person 100%. Am I so wrong on that? thank you for your reply. best A.
The estimates are crazy! I travel a lot for work. I spend about the same amount of nights in hotels. But my costs are a small fraction of this estimate.
@@KymIllman Understood. I was in Austin a few weeks ago. I stayed at a normal business hotel (Hilton, Hampton Inn) for about $150 a night. It was about 30 minutes drive north of the COTA track.
Considering the concentration of F1 teams with a HQ in the UK - and many near Silverstone, it's a bit of a shame that the hotel near Silverstone that the drivers use looks one of the worst on the international circuit!
I would rather be with the rest of the crew than in a separate, fancier hotel. It has to be boring being by yourself. And what all is different between the 5 star and 4 star hotel's. They both have comfortable beds.
are the noise levels in hungary really disruptive? I want to stay at a nicer end hotel but tbh I am not sure about having a crowd outside to pay that much lol
I stayed a few blocks away in Budapest. There are plenty of hotels available. The only crowd I noticed was the one around a Mercedes F1 car parked in front of the Four Seasons (???) Hotel. It may have been a different hotel.
Wonder how much extra the F&B bill comes to…. although probably they eat mostly what the team/nutritionist provides… so maybe just WAG for F&B extras 😀🤷♂️
I can't even imagine F1 drivers needing to check out.... I would also imagine some F1 drivers stay for free? Surely that's good promotion for the hotel, plus some teams as mentioned like McLaren are sponsored by Hilton... so surely they don't have to pay.
You say it is "paid by the team". But is that really true? Does not sound too clever... When it is paid by the team, it would count towards the budget cap. When they let the driver pay it from their salary (which can be negotiated), it would not.
I envy those who have the disposable income to afford $1,000 a night hotels, but in terms of senseless decadence, expensive hotel stays seem absurd when considering that most people use hotel rooms to sleep.
This makes me more curious in joe lucrative free lance photography is. You're paying a third of this cost + flights and still have to pay a mortgage and raise a family? Very surprised in this lol
i love how you keep coming up with topics that never were in my mind but i keep clicking, being intrigued, and honestly just impressed by your knowledge and connection every time hahaha Keep it up!
Music to my ears my friend
Thank you Kym. You allow fans to see wonderful places we could never see in a lifetime of trying.
Happy to share them with you
The Pinnacle of Motorsports requires the Pinnacle of accommodations which gets the Pinnacle of pricing. And the Pinnacle of motor sports photographers covering the whole thing. 💯
yes
You’re most kind
@nnonotnow Well Said !
Have you ever done a vid of your total annual costs Kim? If not, would be interesting. I know you often divulge them per vid but one summary would good
I do one once a year for the tax man that’s enough
@@KymIllman thankgod u arent an american kym or the TAXs would have sucked the living soul out of u
@@KymIllman Good dodge Kym , but still a good question.
Kym has done a video of what it would cost to attend all the races in a low-end and also in a high-end way. Very informative! Of course, that was for 22 races, I believe.
@@KymIllmanI could see that evoking a bit of tax season PTSD 🤣
Highest quality F1/travel content there is on TH-cam. Bar none.
Delighted was such positive feedback
There is a new Hilton hotel at Silverstone, opposite the paddock. I'm sure that will be popular this year.
In Zandvoort NL some of them also stay in a motorhome which would be parked at the golfcourse a short bike ride away
Who cares the teams and drivers have millions. Where do the mechanics stay, the real people of the sport.
👍
I'm very much interested in where mechanics stay during the race week, too.
They stay in the garage. Fixing the broken bits. Especially if they are Albon’s mechanics. 😂
@@spartanp2064 Spartan P, thx for the reply.
Maybe you're right👍
The mechanics might be spending more time in garage than in buildings they stay😂
I was staying at a long-term hotel in-between apartements in Austin. During the GP weekend, I saw McLaren F1 team SUVs parked there. It's one of the cheapest places to stay in Austin, but I think pretty good and clean for the price. less than $60/night for a few nights
When I went to the Monaco Grand Prix a few years ago, I stayed in the neighboring town of Menton. I met the Transport Driver for Stroll’s car and a few mechanics Friday night and had some beers with them. They said they can’t afford to stay in the city of Monaco so get cheaper places nearby.
Can’t wait for f1 Las Vegas. I live in Southern California but will stay at my house at the Colorado river. It’s about 1 hour drive from Vegas.
You’re saving a fortune then
Dude I’ll pay ya to crash 😂
As a Vegas native, it was slightly cheaper to go to the British GP (Abbey GS) than to drive across town for the LV GP.
Most would almost certainly stay in motorhomes near the tracks in places like Spa, Zandvoort and Spielberg where there isn't really a large build up of luxury offerings. I read previously that some teams would just rent motorhome(s) for the entire length of the European race calendar and the teams would drive them from one location to another between races for the drivers to stay in. They might not always be used on every race weekend (Monaco for example) but they would be available.
I Love these kind of insights Kym. Awesome. Keep up the good work mate.
I never stop Donny.
BTW several drivers have airbnb or private accommodation houses with logistics, family and housekeeping/cook.
I have to go to Montreal during the Grand Prix weekend (not for the race). I still haven't decided what I'll do without for a few months to pay for that hotel room.
I stayed in Hilton Jufair area in Bahrain ( only hotel available at the time) i saw Redbull crew in the lobby , usually when a F1 race is held prices go up in that weekend
This is an extremely high budget for hotels per year, I've been wondering, who pays YOU for following the circus around the world every year? Do you have a separate employer? Are your wages and travel costs paid by someone or do you shell out of your own pocket? I would assume this is your fulltime job?
I’m a freelancer.
Look up Kyms history. He is ok
It’s the no pants at the end for me. 😂😂. Great content as always Kym. ✌️
Hotels/Meals/Transport are tax write-offs in most countries.
Amazing numbers, Kym. I wish F1 could come back to Kyalami, probably the only place I could go for a race weekend due to our useless ZAR currency.
Thank you for such quality, Content WE Love you KIM!
F1 Drivers are not paying anything 😂
Exactly. If anything the hotel pays them to stay there. They want people to see them and take pics in their hotels
@@shrimpinpatit's race weekend. They won't care who stays there because the rooms are filled with race goers, media, teams etc. they don't have to advertise and people will pay the jacked up prices anyway and it's the teams themselves who book and pay for the accommodation usually.
@@shrimpinpat Some teams have hotel sponsors as well, like McLaren and Hilton, Mercedes and Marriot, etc. If they don't have a sponsor then they are probably paying full price, which on f1 weekends is 2-4x the regular rate (and it's the team of course, not the driver).
Keep it up great content ❤
Thank you! Will do!
Most of the teams have sponsors. When I was in Singapore last year Ferrari had a deal with Marina Bay Sands. Mercedes have Marriott on their car and race suits.
Four Seasons MONTRÉAL is $3400 CDN per night minimum four nights.
But a fantastic location a short stagger back from Crescent St
The outtakes at the end of this video are hilarious
Kym, not sure if you have done a video on this before, but how do you do all of your accommodations and airfare. Do you plan yourself or does F1 do this for you.
Another nice video with an interesting update on hotels worldwide in f1 World cheers kym keep up the good work 👏
Glad you enjoyed!
Are they required to stay at their sponsors hotels? When I was in Miami it seemed half of Merc was at the Ritz South Beach but the drivers were elsewhere... less busy maybe Edition or St Regis Coral Gables area? Idk
Nice selection of hotels near race tracks.
In Monaco Columbus Hotel is not crazy expensive in normal times (from 300€ to 500€), but they charge more for special event such as the GP. It has been bought by Hilton.
Hyatt is an excellent hotel chain with high end options.
I’d like to see a cost analysis of the transportation costs of an F1 team and equipment.
would be interesting to see the environmental impact from hauling the F1 equipment around the world, when they want to put the whole "hybrid cars and fuels" on the pedestal for marketing.
Amazing Video! Do you know which drivers stayed on the The Setai in Miami Beach? I want to meet them next year
I've had the pleasure of working with 1 of the teams for the past 2 years as an engineer. They put all of us in hotels, drivers are usually in a home, like an Airbnb.
Another great video
Why Hotel owners fail to maintaing their hotels even though they have good deals like F1 drivers/High profile people prefer their hotels?
If you build it people will come. Nothing in that statement requires maintenence, people still flock to ruins lol
Love the content kym it's great to find out stuff I would never have known about
There is a video of Vettel standing in Horners office asking to be reimbursed for a bottle of water he bought at the airport.
I always stay for the outtakes this one was epic 😂
Nice Kym! When I went to Silverstone I stayed at Whittlebury camp next door to the hotel.
I remember watching a documentary on red bull, it focused on christian and he mentioned a driver putting in a reciept for a €3 bottle of water, so i can only imagine the mini bar bill and room service bills they rack up and pass on to the teams.
love these vids
G'day Kym! Thanks for all the great and relevant information you share with everyone, very informative and always interesting. quick ?? How does everyone and especially the drivers deal with 'Jetlag' traveling so much of the year ?? cheers Colm
I think DC divested his hotel interest in Monaco a few years ago.
Last time I went to the Shanghai GP, I stayed at a very nice place for some $200 usd that was near Shanghai city center. That was 2018.
Amazing videeeo! Do you have any videos explaining about cheapest hotel options for fans for each f1 track?
Kym, thanks for providing the V on another very interesting F1 matters🙇♀
Awesome work lots of research and spendings subscribed :)
Welcome aboard!
G'day Kym!
Can you make a video about how drivers manage to cope with Jet Lag? That's a question I've always asked myself
Not sure I’d get much of a video out of that one
I’m sure the drivers have sleep cordinators. I know in American football everything in the hotel and plane are manage to make sure the drivers get a good night sleep , all the way down to the curtains they use for windows . You need complete darkness and a rigid schedule to fight off jet lag
Hi kym greetings from Thailand I stayed in a small family run hotel in spa in the mid 80s Hotel was OK comfortable ut the food was stunning stay passionate 😊
does the photo of lando's win include a pic of the safety car?
What's your favorite Hotel Chain?
Got any tips on getting upgrades?
Heading to the US next week
Thanks for sharing.
Our pleasure!
Great insight!
If they have a good accountant, nothing.
It's a business expense for a start and there are many other loopholes a good accountant will know to bring down their overall personal expenses. They may pay when they stay but by the end of their financial year it will be nothing
where do the crew stay though?
All over the place
Kym: what camera and mic do you use for your videos. They’re always awesome! Plus your family do a great post production job 👍
Canon r5 and 15-35mm lens
Thanks Kym for opening the lid on drivers hotel expenses.
My pleasure
The Silverstone hotel doesnt have aircon. Dont need Aircon for the 3 days a year the sun comes out in the UK, be grateful for the central heating the 8 months we need it
I'm a F1 fan, I love the sport. However, what with the fear of homelessness (I've no car and can't afford my mortgage anymore after a stroke) hearing about these excessive lifestyles make me seriously reconsider our priorities in life!
These guys do have their priorities straight. They take care of themselves and they race. 8000 US dollars for a few nights at a hotel isn’t anything to them. Not because they have so much money but because its a basic thing to them: a place to sleep when you’re racing in another country.
@@DanBorries I think you're missing the point OP is making.
I am sorry to hear about what has happened to you and can't imagine how you must feel. The reality though is that people's priorities are based on the situations that they find themselves in. F1 drivers make up such a small percentage of the worlds population, 20 or so out of 8,118,835,999 people (8.1 Billion) and they have a job to do, albeit sport, but because it is such an elite sport, the pinnacle of sports, and there are so few of them they get millions of dollars to do it. Our view of other people's priorities are based on our own perceptions. What one should rather say is that they must be grateful for what they are able to achieve, earn and accomplish; which I think they do. Anyone who questions F1 driver's priorities should ask themselves: Would I like to find myself in the situation that Michael Schumacher currently finds himself in? I would not. I am more grateful that I am rather "me" who is able to type this reply and able to watch and enjoy F1 and the see the posts by Kym, even though I cannot afford to go to a race. But once again I hope things take a turn for the better regarding your situation, and that maybe someday you might be able to see a real race.
@@martinc.720 I don’t think he has a point
@@DanBorries News flash: Your not understanding what people say does not mean that what they are is meaningless.
Austin will be even worse this year because Texas play Georgia that same weekend at DKR. Prices gonna be nuts
Holy crap! That's a great game. The hotel prices are going to be in the stratosphere. That's why I only attend races in foreign countries.
@@Chatta-Ortega yeah it’s fucked. The F1 calendar was out for a while before the SEC published the fixtures so they could’ve played Texas away that week.
Hello , thank you fot the nice video.
The hotels are paid from the drivers it self or the team pays for it ?
thank you for your reply.
Best
A.
Both.
@@KymIllman thank you for your reply. Very much appreciated.
If I may I would like to rephrase the question.
In my first question I mean just for the drivers expenses, not the rest of the team.
Also I had in mind that the expenses in traveling are covered by the team for every person 100%.
Am I so wrong on that?
thank you for your reply.
best
A.
The estimates are crazy! I travel a lot for work. I spend about the same amount of nights in hotels. But my costs are a small fraction of this estimate.
Yeah, but you’re not going in peak season every weekend
Are you going everywhere during peak season? Do you really stay at the Ritz when you travel for work?
@@KymIllman Understood. I was in Austin a few weeks ago. I stayed at a normal business hotel (Hilton, Hampton Inn) for about $150 a night. It was about 30 minutes drive north of the COTA track.
I'm assuming the drivers aren't staying in the average or bottom end rooms that average folks would use.
Considering the concentration of F1 teams with a HQ in the UK - and many near Silverstone, it's a bit of a shame that the hotel near Silverstone that the drivers use looks one of the worst on the international circuit!
500th Like! Another interesting and erudite video 🌞
I would rather be with the rest of the crew than in a separate, fancier hotel. It has to be boring being by yourself. And what all is different between the 5 star and 4 star hotel's. They both have comfortable beds.
Better security. Last thing the driver wants is fans at their door or being loud outside as they need to sleep
David 'Brick-Head' Coultard sold the Columbus Monte-Carlo back in 2010 🤔
are the noise levels in hungary really disruptive? I want to stay at a nicer end hotel but tbh I am not sure about having a crowd outside to pay that much lol
I stayed a few blocks away in Budapest. There are plenty of hotels available. The only crowd I noticed was the one around a Mercedes F1 car parked in front of the Four Seasons (???) Hotel. It may have been a different hotel.
Things have changed if the teams pay for the drivers accommodation. That was a cost they used to cover themselves as the team only covered the crew.
Isn't there a Hilton at Silverstone now?
Totally agree, Whittlebury Hall at Silverstone is a real dump.
Kym completely overlooked the new Hilton on the pit straight.
I wonder if the drivers/teams who are sponsored by the big brands like Hilton or Ritz Carlton or Marriot get a discount or comped?
Accommodation has a dollar value that is included in the sponsorship
the stuff that fox sports should show and don't this is brilliant, thanks Kym for the in sight
my heart pumps shit for them with the money they make and it's the team that pays wow you are truly a genius
Love it!!
Are these rates including breakfast?
Wonder how much extra the F&B bill comes to…. although probably they eat mostly what the team/nutritionist provides… so maybe just WAG for F&B extras 😀🤷♂️
Who pays for the hotel expenses for the drivers, the drivers themselves or the teams?
I would imagine your accommodation costs over the year would not be cheap Kym ?
earliest I’ve been to a video!
Need bear in mind that Silverstone has a Hilton on the Pit Straight and you forgot the W on the Circuit in Abu Dhabi!
Not too many drivers stay there due to the noise though
Hi Kym, who pays for your travel and accommodation?
Me
Breakfast comes extra for 200$ every morning, which is 10 000$ per year
Don't they have Hilton points?
I can't even imagine F1 drivers needing to check out....
I would also imagine some F1 drivers stay for free? Surely that's good promotion for the hotel, plus some teams as mentioned like McLaren are sponsored by Hilton... so surely they don't have to pay.
I’d spend like nothing so I can build a custom kart circuit and buy some old cars to enjoy in the off season with my paycheck. 😂😂
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
@@KymIllman see you in Montreal in a few weeks!
do the drivers pay or the team ?
On Abu Dhabi; how about the hotel on the track?
No one stays there it’s too noisy
@@KymIllman Ah, that makes sense.
Hey Kim just curious does F1 pay for all your tickets or do u actually pay for the flights and accommodation
I’m a freelancer
@@KymIllman so not a freeloader?
I'd like to know what each team pays for the entire teams hotel bill for each race
Is this only for accommodation?
Yes
Do you have those photos available without your signature? I don’t want your signature on it.
It will be available as wall art on my website shortly. Keep an eye on this page: www.kymillman.com/store/wall-art-best-prints/
how come the hotel in spa is so impossible to book??
Once people get a reservation, they never give it up for the next year
@@KymIllman so how would you say is the best way to try and get a booking anyway? or is it truly impossible and should i not even try?
You say it is "paid by the team". But is that really true? Does not sound too clever...
When it is paid by the team, it would count towards the budget cap. When they let the driver pay it from their salary (which can be negotiated), it would not.
Travel costs are not counted toward budget cap.
Plus tax, resort fees, parking, etc. add another 15%
does hotel cost include in the cost cap
No
I envy those who have the disposable income to afford $1,000 a night hotels, but in terms of senseless decadence, expensive hotel stays seem absurd when considering that most people use hotel rooms to sleep.
I know DC owned 50% of the Columbus hotel but I believe he sold it!? I may be wrong?
Don't you need a model release to sell Lando Norris' pictures Kym?
Found the insta vid while procrastinating doing work, great now rathet than wasting 1 min its 13 😂😂
Hope you enjoyed it!
This makes me more curious in joe lucrative free lance photography is. You're paying a third of this cost + flights and still have to pay a mortgage and raise a family? Very surprised in this lol