REVEALED: Lewis Hamilton’s £40m-a-year deal makes him the second-best paid driver in Formula One and Lando Norris earns almost four times his McLaren’s team-mate… but who is the highest earner in the paddock?
- Lewis Hamilton is the second highest paid driver in Formula 1
- The Brit earns £40 million a year at Mercedes
- Charles Leclerc earns around £27 million per season at Ferrari
The Formula 1 season has yet to really start, but Max Verstappen is already far away from his rivals. At least when it comes to his annual salary.
The Dutchman has won the last three world titles and will start the season in Bahrain this weekend with the aim of becoming only the fourth driver in history to win four consecutive drivers’ titles.
It is not surprising that Verstappen also tops the list of Formula 1 earners.
This is evident from figures published by Racing News 365the 26-year-old is the highest paid driver in the paddock on £45m per year.
That’s more than four times the amount his teammate Sergio Perez earns in a year, with the Mexican taking home just over £11 million per season from Red Bull.
Max Verstappen is the highest paid driver in Formula 1, according to a new report
Lewis Hamilton earns £40 million a year at Mercedes and will earn the same at Ferrari next season
As is often the case on the track, Verstappen’s biggest challenger is Lewis Hamilton, whose contract with Mercedes is worth £40 million.
As Mail Sport revealed last month, the Brit will earn around the same amount at Ferrari once he completes his shock move to the Scuderia next season.
That figure would put the seven-time world champion well clear of his soon-to-be team-mate Charles Leclerc, who currently earns £27 million per season at Maranello.
The salary is the third highest in the paddock, ahead of Lando Norris’ annual salary of £16 million, which is almost four times the salary of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, takes home £9.5m per season, while George Russell and Fernando Alonso both earn just over £14m per year.
Charles Leclerc has signed a £27m-a-year contract with Ferrari
Lando Norris’ salary is almost four times that of his teammate Oscar Piastri
Valtteri Bottas and Daniel Ricciardo each earn £8 million and £6 million from Stake F1 Team and Visa Cash App.
Alpine duo Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly pocket just under £5m each, while Alexander Albon and Lance Stroll both take home around £2.5m a year.
Nico Hulkenberg and Guanyu Zhou earn just over £1.5m per season, while Yuki Tsunoda and Logan Sargeant are relative paupers in the sport with annual salaries of £800,000 each.