F1 Driver Salaries 2024: Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton WAY out in front of rivals

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F1 Driver Salaries

F1 Driver Salaries 2024: Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton WAY out in front

Formula 1 driver salaries are often a mystery, but we try to break down what the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are spending

Stuart Hodge

Saturday 27 January 2024 18:57

Formula 1's budget cap era is very much here, but that doesn't mean that - unlike in most major sports - the star performers' salaries are impacted.

F1 drivers' salaries don't actually count against the cap, with the powers that be focusing more on other staff and car spending!

But just how much does each driver earn as the 2024 season gets underway? Let's take a look.

Salary for every F1 driver in 2024

Salaries for F1 drivers are notoriously difficult to pin down; there can be a range of external elements such as contract upgrades, bonuses, and sponsorships, which makes it hard to identify just how much each driver earns.

In 2022, Max Verstappen penned one of the most lucrative deals for a driver in F1 history and was then financially rubbing shoulders with rival Lewis Hamilton. That continued into the 2023 season, with both men holding clear financial dominance over the remainder of the grid.

According to a recent report by Forbes, Verstappen's recent contract extension has propelled him to the top of the F1 pay chart, earning a staggering $70 million per season. This includes a base salary of $45 million and performance-related bonuses of $25 million, putting him a significant $15 million ahead of his closest rival, Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, with his $55 million annual earnings, remains comfortably within the top tier of F1 earners. His salary consists solely of his base pay, as he didn't earn any performance bonuses in 2023.

Beyond Verstappen and Hamilton, the rest of the F1 driver salaries follow a descending order. Fernando Alonso, with his $34 million annual earnings (salary $24m, bonuses $10m), stands as the third-highest paid driver, followed by Sergio Perez ($26 million - salary $10m, bonuses $16m) and Charles Leclerc ($19 million - salary $14m, bonuses $5m).

Lando Norris has emerged as the team's highest-paid driver, earning $15 million per season (salary $5m, bonuses $10m). Ferrari's Carlos Sainz follows closely with $14 million (salary $8m, bonuses $6m) in annual earnings.

Rounding out the top 10 earners in 2023 are George Russell ($9 million - salary $4m, bonuses $5m), Pierre Gasly ($8 million - salary $5m, bonuses $3m), and McLaren's new boy Oscar Piastri ($8 million - salary $3m, bonuses $5m).

Here are the base salaries of F1 drivers, as reported by Forbes and other sources, excluding any performance-based bonuses.

Driver	Team	Base salary
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	$45m
Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	$55m
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	$14m
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	$24m
Lando Norris	McLaren	$5m
Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	$8m
Sergio Perez	Red Bull	$10m
Valtteri Bottas	Stake F1 Team	$10m
George Russell	Mercedes	$4m
Esteban Ocon	Alpine	$6m
Kevin Magnussen	Haas	$5m
Pierre Gasly	Alpine	$5m
Alex Albon	Williams	$3m
Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	$2m
Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	$2m
Zhou Guanyu	Stake F1 Team	$2m
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	$3m
Daniel Ricciardo	Visa Cash App RB	$2m
Logan Sargeant	Williams	$1m
Yuki Tsunoda	Visa Cash App RB	$1m

Does the F1 budget cap affect driver salaries?

As mentioned, 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.