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F1's bad payers revealed

Anyone want to take a guess as to which Formula One teams pay their bills on time and which teams are a little slow when it comes to settling their accounts?

According to the Mail on Sunday, an independent study conducted by business information company Dun & Bradstreet reveals that only two teams pay before the due date.

Red Bull Racing and sister team Toro Rosso, both bankrolled by Austrian billionaire Dietrich Mateschitz, are the only outfits that pay their creditors - which include caterers, designers, equipment suppliers and haulage firms - on time. However, that is largely down to Mateschitz's decision to boost the teams' budget.

'The data, which compare the rate of payment between December 2009 to April 2010 and between April to November last year, reveal that although the economy has begun to pick up, the creditworthiness of F1 teams has not,' the report claims.

Despite having some of the biggest budgets in the sport, heavyweights Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren are usually late by between 11 and 17 days. The trio were upstaged by rookies Virgin - backed by Sir Richard Branson - who on average settled their accounts eight days after the due date.

Force India are by far the worst of the established outfits as they usually take about a month to pay their bills despite being owned by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya.

The report adds: 'One supplier, who did not wish to be named, said his company has had to pay its own staff late as a result. 'If Vijay sold his yacht, it would keep the team going for a couple of years,' he said.'

The Northamptonshire-based team though don't get the award for worst overall offender. That honour goes to rookies Lotus who usually pay 180 days late.

Full list

Red Bull 0 days late

Toro Rosso 0 days late

Virgin 8 days late

Williams 9 days late

Mercedes 11 days late

Renault 14 days late

Ferrari 15 days late

McLaren 17 days late

Force India F1 30 days late

Lotus 180 days late

Sauber No data

Hispania No data

Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)