Have you ever wondered how much Formula 1 drivers earn in an average race year?
With famous drivers like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso, you gotta know that their net worth is quite high – but just how high?
Unfortunately, neither Formula 1 or the drivers of this prestigious motorsport share their salaries, sponsorships, and other income or net worth.
But thanks to the internet, we can research it as best we can to come up with some estimates.
Formula 1 Driver Salaries + Bonuses
You likely already know that just being a Formula 1 driver is profitable on it’s own with a generous base level salary.
But what you might not know is that these drivers also get bonuses based on how they finish in each races.
These bonuses are known as performance-based bonuses and can be contingent on things like the position the driver finishes in a race.
To give you an idea of what type of bonus an F1 driver can get in their contract, we have the well publicized return of driver Kimi Raikkonen in 2012 after taking a year off.
The performance bonus offered to Raikkonen in his two-year contract was a €50,000 bonus (approx. $53,000 USD) for every single world championship point that he could rack up.
During that two-year contract period, Raikkonen did so well in his F1 races that we amassed a total of 390 world championship points, which earned him €19.5 million in performance bonus money.
That’s right, this single F1 driver earned €19.5 million over two years just in bonuses!
Obviously, being an F1 race car driver very lucrative, if you are good at it.
Formula 1 Driver Salaries Cost Cap
Back in 2021, the rules for paying Formula 1 drivers changed with the introduction of the cost cap.
The cost cap means that each Formula 1 team can spend no more than $145 million per season on performance-related costs, which results in a more even playing field for all the teams.
It’s important to note what is covered under the umbrella of ‘performance-related costs’ though. That includes:
- the cost of the cars, including building them
- mechanic salaries
- engineer salaries
- wind tunnels
- anything else related to the car
So, while pretty much everything related to the Formula 1 car itself are included in performance-related costs, there are a lot of things excluded from the cost cap.
Things excluded from the F1 cost cap include:
- driver salaries
- marketing costs
- bonuses
- salaries of the 3 highest paid staff
- hotels for drivers
- other travel costs for drivers
Since driver salaries are exempt from the cost cap, this means there is no limit on how much F1 drivers can get paid as a salary or as a bonus.
How Much Does Lewis Hamilton Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Lewis Hamilton, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Hamilton races for the Mercedes F1 team.
It is estimated that Lewis Hamilton earns $30 million USD a year, or €25 million euros.
How Much Does Max Verstappen Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Max Verstappen, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Verstappen races for the Red Bull F1 team.
It is estimated that Max Verstappen earns $25 million USD a year, or €21 million euros.
How Much Does Fernando Alonso Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Fernando Alonso, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Alonso races for the Alpine F1 team.
It is estimated that Fernando Alonso earns $20 million USD a year, or €17 million euros.
How Much Does Sebastian Vettel Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Sebastian Vettel, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Vettel races for the Aston Martin F1 team.
It is estimated that Sebastian Vettel earns $15 million USD a year, or €13 million euros.
How Much Does Daniel Ricciardo Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Daniel Ricciardo, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Ricciardo races for the McLaren F1 team.
It is estimated that Daniel Ricciardo earns $15 million USD a year, or €13 million euros.
How Much Does Charles Leclerc Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Charles Leclerc, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Leclerc races for the Ferrari F1 team.
It is estimated that Charles Leclerc earns $12 million USD a year, or €10 million euros.
How Much Does Valtteri Bottas Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Valtteri Bottas, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Bottas races for the Mercedes F1 team.
It is estimated that Valtteri Bottas earns $10 million USD a year, or €8 million euros.
How Much Does Carlos Sainz Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Carlos Sainz, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Sainz races for the Ferrari F1 team.
It is estimated that Carlos Sainz earns $10 million USD a year, or €8 million euros.
How Much Does Lance Stroll Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Lance Stroll, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Stroll races for the Aston Martin F1 team.
It is estimated that Lance Stroll earns $10 million USD a year, or €8 million euros.
How Much Does Kimi Raikkonen Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Kimi Raikkonen, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Raikkonen races for the Alfa Romeo F1 team.
It is estimated that Kimi Raikkonen earns $10 million USD a year, or €8 million euros.
How Much Does Sergio Perez Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Sergio Perez, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Perez races for the Red Bull F1 team.
It is estimated that Sergio Perez earns $8 million USD a year, or €7 million euros.
How Much Does Lando Norris Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Lando Norris, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Norris races for the McLaren F1 team.
It is estimated that Lando Norris earns $5 million USD a year, or €4.75 million euros.
How Much Does Esteban Ocon Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Esteban Ocon, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Ocon races for the Alpine F1 team.
It is estimated that Esteban Ocon earns $5 million USD a year, or €4.75 million euros.
How Much Does Pierre Gasly Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Pierre Gasly, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Gasly races for the AlphaTauri F1 team.
It is estimated that Pierre Gasly earns $5 million USD a year, or €4.75 million euros.
How Much Does Antonio Giovinazzi Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Antonio Giovinazzi, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Giovinazzi races for the Alfa Romeo F1 team.
It is estimated that Antonio Giovinazzi earns $1 million USD a year, or €950,000 euros.
How Much Does Mick Schumacher Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Mick Schumacher, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Schumacher races for the Haas F1 team.
It is estimated that Mick Schumacher earns $1 million USD a year, or €950,000 euros.
How Much Does Nikita Mazepin Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Nikita Mazepin, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Mazepin races for the Haas F1 team.
It is estimated that Nikita Mazepin earns $1 million USD a year, or €950,000 euros.
How Much Does Nicholas Latifi Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Nicholas Latifi, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Latifi races for the Williams F1 team.
It is estimated that Nicholas Latifi earns $1 million USD a year, or €950,000 euros.
How Much Does George Russell Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for George Russell, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Russell races for the Williams F1 team.
It is estimated that George Russell earns $1 million USD a year, or €950,000 euros.
How Much Does Yuki Tsunoda Earn?
While no exact net work figures exist for Yuki Tsunoda, we can estimate how much he makes during the season.
Tsunoda races for the AlphaTauri F1 team.
It is estimated that Yuki Tsunoda earns $500,000 USD a year, or €475,000 euros.