Formula One is a sport that is worth millions of dollars, and driver wages play a significant role in this. It should come as no surprise that Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are the highest earnings, but other drivers such as Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel also score well. However, how much money does each driver make?
Table of Contents
How Much Money Do Formula 1 Drivers Make?
| Driver | Team | Salary ($ million) | Contract Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 40 | 2023 |
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 35 | 2028 |
| Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 20 | 2022 |
| Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 15 | 2022 + |
| Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 15 | 2023 + |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 12 | 2024 |
| Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 10 | 2022 + |
| Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 10 | 2025 |
| Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 10 | Open |
| Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 8 | 2022 |
| Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 6 | |
| George Russell | Mercedes | 5 | 2023 |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | 5 | 2025 + |
| Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 5 | 2024 |
| Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 5 | 2023 |
| Alexander Albon | Williams | 2 | 2022 + (Red Bull) |
| Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1 | 2022 |
| Mick Schumacher | Haas | 1 | 2022+ (Ferrari) |
| Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 1 | 2022 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 750k | 2022 + |
The majority of Formula One drivers take home millions of dollars each season because of their extensive travels across the world to perform for their legions of devoted fans.
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The pay of drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen is in the tens of millions of dollars, putting them in a league of their own compared to others at the end of the grid.
With an anticipated income of $40 million per year, seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton is now the highest-paid driver in Formula One.
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However, after signing a huge new deal through 2028, Max Verstappen is now only 5 million dollars behind Hamilton in terms of compensation.
The Dutchman’s annual earnings might reach up to $50 million if they are eligible for incentives.
This winter there have only been a few driver swaps, especially when compared to the silly season of 2020, which resulted in a number of different drivers switching teams.
As a consequence of this, the differences between the salaries from the previous year and those from this year are not very significant.
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The transfer of Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo, where he will receive the same amount of money as in 2021, is one of the most significant movements.
George Russell, who will replace Bottas and will earn 5 million dollars each season, will make the step up from Williams to replace Bottas.
In order to ensure that the list is as accurate as it can be, we gathered information from a wide variety of sources both within and outside of the F1 paddock.
The performance incentives and money from personal sponsors are not included in any of the wages. In the meanwhile, drivers whose contracts with a plus sign after them have the option to extend them.
Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, earns $40 million per year, while Yuki Tsunoda, a driver for Scuderia AlphaTauri, makes a meager $750 thousand per year in salary.
Just as the cars are separated by seconds from the front of the grid to the back, the wages of the drivers are also separated by seconds.
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After that, we have to take into consideration paid drivers like Lando Norris, Lance Stroll, and Nicholas Latifi who bring in money for the team while still collecting a wage for themselves.
In addition to the salary provided by their teams, drivers also have the opportunity to earn additional cash via personal sponsorships and performance-based bonuses.
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What Do Formula One Drivers Earn?
Although the precise salaries of Formula One drivers are not disclosed to the public, Spotrac estimates that Lewis Hamilton earns $40 million per year, with Max Verstappen, the freshly crowned World Champion, coming in slightly behind him with a salary of $35 million.
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Fernando Alonso, a two-time World Champion, earns a cool $20 million from Alpine, while Sebastian Vettel, a 4 World Champion, receives $15 million a year from Aston Martin.
It is fascinating to note that Valtteri Bottas, who moved from Mercedes to Alfa Romeo in what may be termed a “step down,” retained his previous wage of $10 million per year despite making the switch.
The following is a list, presented in US dollars, of the driver wages for the 2022 Formula One season.
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Conclusion
Every rider earns a different amount of money which is based on many different factors mostly sponsors and their ranking during the season.