how old was your DD and how many races were left on the contract? I get the feeling you had to sack a retiring person and because of that you still have to pay their full contract.
500,000 x 36 races = 18,000,000
I ask because you now have a 60yr old designer who is making 431k per race 3 races into an initial contract. I also see you have a technical director that is 3 races in to a new contract...
Hahaha, that's brutal, I've wiped that pay-off cost for you (it will show as an 'Investment' in Finance history). Please be sure to read the fine print next time! :)