Road Racer,

These are the budgets for the 2004 season according to Business F1 Magazine:

Toyota: $400m
Ferrari: $363m (plus $20m supplied by Marlboro and dedicated to driver salary)
McLaren: $350m
Williams: $333m
Renault: $300m
BAR: $225m
Jaguar: $167m
Sauber: $162m
Jordan: $50m
Minardi: $43m

As you can see this year Toyota is spending the most and getting absolutely nothing in return.

Chuck,
I agree with you somewhat that the driver skill is being somewhat taking away. But they are slowly being put back into the hands of the drivers. They got rid of launch control and automatic gearboxes this year. The only real driver-aid they have left is Traction Control and too much downforce on the cars.

F1 is all about the advancement of automotive technology, going back to H-shift pattern gearboxes, clutch pedals on the floor, etc. is a step backwards for these guys.

Also, Barrichello has the same car as M. Schumacher, and this season he hasn't really been that impressive. So it's not just the car doing all of the work.