How Much Do F1 Drivers Make? A 2023 Wage Guide
From the start of 2021, Formula 1 teams have been subject to a cost cap. The sport now limits what teams can spend during a season with the aim of reducing what was once a significant spending gap between the major front-of-the-grid squads and the smaller outfits.
This transparent attempt to level the playing field – with all teams allowed just shy of $140 million to play with during 2023 – has so far failed. Red Bull has been more dominant than ever, Mercedes and Ferrari continue to collect silverware. Haas and Williams still habitually bring up the rear.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are currently the highest earners in Formula 1. ©GettyImages
Why is this? Maybe the expenditure that does not come within the confines of the cost cap offers a reason why some teams prosper and others flounder. Exemptions include employee bonuses, legal costs, and the wages of the team’s three highest-paid staff members.
F1 Driver Salary Comes Without a Cap
The ability to employ the best staff is an asset for any company in any line of work. A primary component of all F1 teams is their drivers, and their salary is also an unlimited addition to the $140 million cost cap. It means F1’s ten teams are free to pay their star drivers as much as they demand with no limits.
So, how much do F1 drivers make? In 2023, the answer is a collective £170 million. This mouthwatering sum is only an estimate, as teams are understandably coy about what part of their budget goes toward F1 driver salaries.
Here you can read what are widely believed to be the F1 drivers’ earnings during the current season. The figures have been compiled following consultation with insiders and industry experts.
F1 driver salaries are only part of the overall income of F1 drivers as contracts are often bonus-related to results, race wins, podium finishes, and championship points. Furthermore, F1 drivers’ salaries can be boosted by individual sponsorships and personal investments.
Max Verstappen: £45m – Red Bull
Probably the recipient of the highest F1 driver salary, the 2021 and 2022 World Champion (and 2023 champion if the Formula 1 betting sites are correct with their odds) is predicted to earn £45 million in 2023. The 25-year-old is the only driver that owns a private jet – a Dassault Falcon-900x formerly owned by Sir Richard Branson.
In 2022 Hello Magazine reported that the Dutchman lives in a rented Monaco apartment worth £13.4 million. The winning machine has the potential to race for many more years – Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2028 – meaning he could retire from the sport as a billionaire.
Lewis Hamilton: £29m – Mercedes
How much money the winning most F1 driver in history makes has long been a topic of conversation. The seven-time World Drivers’ Championship winner from humble beginnings made a smart move when joining Mercedes in 2014 for what was reported to be a record F1 driver salary.
Mercedes has provided the 38-year-old with six of his world titles. But a fruitless 2022 and failure to win the 2021 World Championship in controversial circumstances may have affected the F1 driver salary paid by the German team.
Nevertheless, Hamilton is likely to receive the second-highest F1 drivers’ salary in 2023. It is thought to be £29 million. Through his driving exploits, he is doubtlessly the richest F1 driver. In 2022, Hamilton was part of a consortium that bid to buy Chelsea FC.
Charles Leclerc: £20m – Ferrari
Unlike most Formula 1 drivers, Charles Leclerc did not need to move to Monaco for tax purposes. The Ferrari star was born and bred in the principality! A meteoric rise through the ranks saw him join Ferrari in his second season in Formula 1.
Ten podiums, including two race victories in his first year wearing red overalls, raised Leclerc’s stock dramatically. His F1 driver salary went skyward when he signed a five-year contract with the team at the end of the 2019 season. And it is estimated he currently earns £20 million a year.
Lando Norris: £17m – McLaren
How much do F1 drivers make? Plenty! Lando Norris will surpass 100 Formula 1 race starts during the 2023 season, but despite being winless, his 2023 F1 drivers’ salary is an estimated £17 million! Already one of the richest F1 drivers courtesy of family wealth – his father, Adam Norris is one of the richest people in the UK – Norris Jnr is under contract with his McLaren team until the end of 2025.
The 23-year-old owns an E-sports team, and his website sells branded merchandise and clothing featuring the driver’s L & N logo. Personal sponsorships with companies such as Bell Helmets boost Norris’s income meaning a silver spoon has been replaced with the Midas touch.
Carlos Sainz: £10m – Ferrari
Not the highest-paid Formula 1 driver but towards the top of our list, Carlos Sainz is thought to receive a healthy annual £10 million F1 salary and will do so until the end of 2024 when his current contract expires.
Sergio Perez: £8m – Red Bull
It would appear the only driver that does not know he is the designated second driver in the Red Bull team is Sergio Perez! Often used as a sacrificial lamb to help Max Verstappen, the Mexican does win when everything falls right for him. He is not a prolific scorer but an invaluable component of the team.
Perez entered the sport via huge financial backing from the world’s richest man – Carlos Slim – under the guise of Mexican telecommunications giant Telmex. Financially, he has prospered during his time with the Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point, and now, Red Bull teams.
The 33-year-olds F1 driver’s salary is estimated to be £8 million a year. But, with national hero status in Mexico, he has numerous sponsorships from Mexican companies, and they probably make his Red Bull F1 driver salary look like pocket change.
Valtteri Bottas: £8m- Alfa Romeo
Bottas played second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for five seasons when winning an average of two races per year. Tellingly, he confirmed Hamilton’s failure to clinch the World Drivers’ Championship in 2021 cost him “several million dollars” in bonuses. Alfa Romeo now has the Finn signed until 2025, and he is thought to be on surprisingly high F1 wages of £8 million a year.
George Russell: £7m – Mercedes
Managing to go toe-to-toe with Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes that is off the pace of Red Bull means George Russel could be described as ‘value’ in the F1 salary stakes. The 25-year-old is believed to cost the team £7 million a year.
His stock is rising though, and he is likely to receive a pay rise in the future. Likewise, his next contract – due to expire at the end of 2023 – may be for more than one or even two seasons.
Esteban Ocon: £5m – Alpine
At six feet, Ocon is one of the tallest drivers the sport has ever known, and his estimated £5 million wage is also impressively high. His well-resourced French team is happy to have two Frenchmen driving for them. But, as the brands he endorses are team sponsors, it would appear he has little other revenue apart from his F1 driver salary.
Pierre Gasly: £4m – Alpine
The second French driver at Alpine, Pierre Gasly, has a shorter history with the team. While both drivers are contracted until the end of 2024, Gasly is thought to have a lesser F1 driver salary of £4 million per season.
Kevin Magnussen: £5m – Haas
The struggling Haas team is thought to pay the 30-year-old Dane an average F1 salary of £5 million. He is contracted until the end of 2023, and he may need to outpoint his current teammate – Nico Hulkenberg – to receive a pay rise or a new contract thereafter.
Fernando Alonso: £4m – Aston Martin
The nomadic Alonso has found himself in a punchy Aston Martin car in 2023. His F1 salary is ‘only’ an estimated £4 million. However, there are likely to be bonuses in place for podium finishes and race wins, and the two-time World Champion has plenty of income from product endorsements.
One of the most marketable athletes in the world, numerous huge companies have partnered with and sponsored Alonso over the years. Like Perez, he has substantial support within his home nation.
Alex Albon: £2m – Williams
Cast aside by the Red Bull team, Albon is not amongst the richest F1 drivers now that he is driving for the perennial back markers, team Williams. His F1 driver salary is an estimated £2 million a year, but he is assured of his race seat in 2024.
Zhou Guanyu: £1.6m – Alfa Romeo
Guanyu did well to make it into Formula 1 as he finished eighth in the F3 championship (in three seasons/attempts) and a best of third in his three seasons in F2. It is believed the Chinese driver receives an F1 salary of £1.6 million from his Switzerland-based Alfa Romeo team.
However, with massive funding thought to come into Alfa Romeo through Guanyu’s family financially backing the team, his F1 wages are indirect and token pocket money.
Lance Stroll: £1.6m – Aston Martin
How much do F1 drivers make? About £90,000 a race if you are Lance Stroll. However, Stroll is probably the richest F1 driver of all – as his father, Lawrence Stroll, has a personal worth of $3.6 billion.
That wealth bought Stroll Jnr. into Formula 1 when Stroll Snr. invested in the Williams team to attain a race seat for his son. In 2019, the Racing Point team was acquired by a consortium headed by Stroll and later re-labeled as Aston Martin. Lance, still only 24, was transferred to the faster car/team at that point. He should have a career with the rapidly improving Silverstone-based team for as long as he pleases.
Nico Hulkenberg: £1.6m – Haas
Massively experienced – driving for several teams but never earning a podium finish – 35-year-old Hulkenberg is estimated to draw a £1.6 million F1 wage at Haas. A reliable pilot, age is against the likable shy German, but he has a 2024 contract in place.
Oscar Piastri: £700k – McLaren
A rookie in 2023, this 22-year-old Australian with an exceptional F3 and F2 career is not among the highest-paid F1 drivers. But, as with all types of business, success will pave the way for future pay rises. McLaren’s F1 car is currently far from competitive, but 2024 is another year, and Piastri is contracted to keep his seat until the end of that season.
Nyck de Vries: £1.6m – AlphaTauri
F2 champion in 2019, the Dutch driver spent three seasons in Formula E before finally getting his chance in Formula 1 aged 28. As a rookie in the sport, there is no immediate meaningful sponsorship and endorsement income for de Vries, and so he has to survive on his estimated £1.6 million F1 driver salary.
Yuki Tsunoda: £800k – AlphaTauri
In his third Formula 1 season, the Japanese driver is believed to be on a £800,000 annual F1 driver salary. Little is known of his family wealth, but popularity within Japan probably ensures that income is backed up by sponsorship – particularly from Honda.
Logan Sargeant: £800k – Williams
An American driver on the Formula 1 starting grid is likely viewed as invaluable by the Formula 1 organization. Sadly, for them, Sargeant is in an uncompetitive Williams for the 2023 season.
The British team is believed to pay the 22-year-old an F1 driver salary of £800,000 but, hailing from a family that has billions in the bank, that sum and much more money may be flowing into the team via Sargeant sponsorship.
