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Formula 1 drivers are some of the highest-paid athletes in the world, and here is a look at the reported driver salaries of the 2024 grid.
Some drivers appear among the highest-paid athletes in any sport globally, with Lewis Hamilton and now Max Verstappen regularly among the top earners around the sporting world.
Formula 1 driver salaries are often broken down into a base salary and performance-related bonuses, which can depend on factors such as where they finish from race to race, Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship position, race wins, podiums and more – though every deal is different.
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Prominent business magazine Forbes listed Max Verstappen as the highest-earning F1 driver in 2023, combining a $45m reported base salary with $25m in bonuses from his record-breaking season at the top of the tree, on his way to a third consecutive World Championship.
Lewis Hamilton, while reportedly on a higher base salary than the Red Bull driver on $55m, is said by Forbes to have not earned extra money through bonuses in 2023, with a second winless season in a row for the Mercedes driver – but his status and experience in the sport still puts him as one of the highest earners.
Fernando Alonso has reportedly earned a big pay increase from his move to Aston Martin, having already been a high earner throughout his career through his status as a two-time World Champion.
His reported $24m base salary was supplemented by $10m in bonuses from a successful first year at Aston Martin, with the sport’s three World Champions on the current grid taking their place as its highest earners.
Do driver salaries count as part of the F1 budget cap?
No, driver salaries do not make up a part of the F1 budget cap, meaning teams are free to pay their drivers as much (or as little) as they please.
Currently, all team salaries come under Formula 1’s annual spending limits, but the team’s two drivers and three other highest-paid staff members are exempt from inclusion in the final report.
Who are the lowest-paid drivers in Formula 1?
Rookies tend to have lower earning power when they come into Formula 1 as, in any line of work, they need to prove themselves before earning the big money.
Alongside that, drivers who bring sponsorship income to their team can have their pay supplemented by their sponsors, with a lower salary coming from their team.
Less experienced drivers like Logan Sargeant and Zhou Guanyu feature lower down the list, with Yuki Tsunoda also nearer the bottom of the reported earning standings despite 2024 being his fourth F1 season, though he may well have his income supplemented by Honda, with whom he has strong links.
Daniel Ricciardo was one of the highest earners in Formula 1, earning a reported $15m per year at Renault and McLaren, though this was significantly reduced upon taking a reserve role at Red Bull for 2023 – though details of his 2024 salary now that he is back behind the wheel are currently under wraps.
