F1 Driver Salaries 2024: Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton WAY out in front
F1 Driver Salaries 2024: Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton WAY out in front
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.
The reigning F1 champion signed a five-year extension to an already existing agreement last year, which now sees him tied to Red Bull through to the end of 2028.
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.
READ MORE: F1 drivers age: How old are Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris and co
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GP BAHRAIN
29 Feb - 2 Mar
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GP SAUDI ARABIA
7 - 9 Mar
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GP AUSTRALIA
22 - 24 Mar
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GP JAPAN
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GP CHINA
19 - 21 Apr
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GP USA
3 - 5 May
Lando Norris
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- AWS Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
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