In fact, the Ferrari F1 team is only worth less than the entire NFL, the entire MLB, NBA and Nascar.
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After weeks of rest he was able to start physical rehabilitation, before finally driving an old Ferrari F1 car in a private test.
But Ferrari objected and F1 officials had already ruled out making a change to the track.
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But Ecclestone's deal to ensure Ferrari remains with F1 until at least 2012 is likely to mean no rival series would be viable.
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BMW's departure leaves four car manufacturers still competing in F1: Ferrari, Mercedes Benz, Toyota and Renault.
World champion Lewis Hamilton said he "could not imagine" F1 without Ferrari while Renault's Fernando Alonso said it was "impossible" for it to happen.
That statement had come after Max Mosley, president of F1's governing body the FIA, had reached a compromise deal with Fota chairman and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.
In return for being the only team to compete every season of F1 since the series started in 1950 Ferrari gets its own prize fund of 5% of F1's profits.
Although everyone in F1 agrees about Ferrari's status - including Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher - it is believed that the top four teams are reasonably closely matched.
Ferrari also enjoys special treatment in F1 thanks to its longevity in, and importance to, the sport.
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If Alonso takes it, he'll bring the trophy back to Ferrari, the most successful team in F1 history, for the first time since 2007.
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He is fighting to bring the drivers' trophy back to Ferrari, the most successful team in F1 history, for the first time since 2007.
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Alonso's switch to Ferrari has been an open secret in F1 for weeks and BBC Sport understands he signed his contract as long ago as July 2008.
That just leaves Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull F1's most successful teams, and its most stable.
Ferrari will be entering its 63rd season in F1 this year, the only team to have competed continuously since the modern championship was introduced in 1950.
As by far F1's biggest draw, Ferrari's presence would almost certainly guarantee the championship they were involved in would have the biggest following in the event of any split.
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Alonso's switch to Ferrari had been the worst-kept secret in F1, and the announcement is likely to trigger a string of driver moves.
The changes may also have much to do with Michael Schumacher's continued domination of F1 - the German, in the Ferrari, has won the drivers championship for the last four years and the first four races of this season.
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Ferrari, meanwhile, are the only team in F1 with their own test track, Fiorano, while their budget, thought to be second highest in the sport, means that almost more than any other team they are able to throw money at a problem.
Raikkonen, who clinched the drivers' championship as a Ferrari driver in 2007, will make his return to F1 next year after initially leaving the sport in 2009.
Schumacher agreed a new role with Ferrari over the summer, cutting his links with the F1 team to become an ambassador, consultant and test driver for the company's road cars.
McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull are expected to be represented on F1's new extended board but Whitmarsh said the English team would not take part until all have signed up.
Boullier said there was a good relationship building between experienced former Ferrari driver Raikkonen, who is is in his 10th F1 campaign, and Frenchman Grosjean -- a 26-year-old who has yet to complete a full season.
Although everyone in F1 is treating Alonso as a done deal at Ferrari, the team are not willing to confirm it yet.
Hamilton became the youngest F1 world champion in history in November, beating Ferrari's Felipe Massa to the title by a single point.
"The use of same engines would deprive F1 of its competition and technological development, " said Ferrari.
Ecclestone denied he was in Madonna to smooth tensions with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who has been critical of the way F1 is being run.
Button, Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton are just a handful of F1 racers who have mixed business with pleasure by calling Monaco their home.
Ferrari say it was the first of its kind in the three years since DRS was introduced to F1.
Massa, who made his F1 debut in 2002 with Sauber and returned there in 2004 after a year testing with Ferrari, has long been linked with a permament move to the Maranello-based outfit.
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