Isack Hadjar celebrating his first podium at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

Isack Hadjar's Red Bull F1 salary will be FIVE times bigger than current deal

Isack Hadjar has been promoted up to Red Bull for 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 4 December 2025 08:58

Isack Hadjar will earn five times more at Red Bull than his current rookie F1 contract at Racing Bulls, according to French media.

Hadjar has recently been confirmed to be being promoted for 2026 into the main Red Bull team, where he will get the opportunity to race alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen.

While the second Red Bull seat has been a poisoned chalice in the last couple of seasons, there is real hope that the 21-year-old will be the answer to Red Bull's second seat worries, with the Frenchman having had an outstanding rookie season in 2025.

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Hadjar has claimed 51 points across 23 events, and sits ahead of both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda in the drivers' championship, despite them both having driven the Red Bull for at least a couple of races this year.

Tsunoda has only managed 30 points across 21 race weekends at Red Bull, and is stepping down to be their reserve driver in 2026.

Now, it's being reported by French publication Sportune that Hadjar will earn €6.6million (£5.8million) at Red Bull in 2026, which would be five times the amount he is currently earning at Racing Bulls.

Hadjar has already helped himself to a maiden grand prix podium in the sport despite racing for Red Bull's sister team, and his stock is arguably the highest out of all the 2025 rookies.

How much do F1 drivers earn?

Hadjar's salary will still be low compared to his new Red Bull team-mate Verstappen, who is earning around $65million before performance-based bonuses.

Or Lewis Hamilton, for example, who has less grand prix podiums than Hadjar in 2025, yet is earning $60million.

However, it is a significant increase compared to his 2025 salary, and takes him off the bottom of the driver earnings table and in amongst some of the most experienced racers in the sport, including Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon.

Here are the base salaries of F1 drivers in 2025, as reported by multiple credible sources, excluding any performance-based bonuses.

Driver	Team	Base salary
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	$65m
Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	$60m
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	$34m
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	$20m
Lando Norris	McLaren	$20m
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	$20m
George Russell	Mercedes	$15m
Carlos Sainz	Williams	$10m
Pierre Gasly	Alpine	$10m
Alex Albon	Williams	$8m
Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber	$7m
Esteban Ocon	Haas	$7m
Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	$12.3m
Yuki Tsunoda	Racing Bulls	$2m
Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	$2m
Gabriel Bortoleto	Sauber	$2m
Ollie Bearman	Haas	$1m
Liam Lawson	Red Bull	$1m
Jack Doohan	Alpine	<$1m
Franco Colapinto	Alpine	<$1.5m
Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	<$1m

Does the F1 budget cap affect driver salaries?

Quite simply, it doesn't.

Driver salaries are kept separate from the budget cap. Indeed the salaries of the three highest-paid employees are exempt, which in virtually all cases will include the team principals as well.

Other items which are kept exempt include marketing costs and utility bills incurred by the teams.

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Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

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