Formula 1 drivers spin around the fastest tracks in the world but also earn quite lots of dough!
We all know that money makes the world go-’round, but what makes F1 cars spinning around in circles on some of the best venues in the world? Racing drivers do that while risking their lives in driving at over 200 mph, honed by their passion for pursuing their child’s dream. There is also the killer instinct to simply outrace everyone around them. And when they do win, they have a couple of accomplishments at the same time. They achieved what they strived for, but they also got that bargaining chip in their hands.
Many millions of dollars are spent on an F1 car to even start that first race in the season. And much more dollars are spent to be one of the best out there.
So, is it really necessary to pay that large salary to any driver who drives an unbeaten car for the last 7 seasons? Could anybody else win in that car? They say that answering a question with a question is quite an annoying habit, so here we go. Do you think that any high-level operation can be left resting in the hands of an unreliable individual? Messi or Ronaldo, Le Bron or Curry, Brady or Mahomes wouldn’t be where they are if they weren’t as valuable to their team.
So how much does it cost to have that peace of mind?
Top Dawgs!
In a competitive environment like Formula 1, nothing can describe better the dog-eat-dog idiom than the drivers. Besides the on-track winning, there is a fight for the best deal possible as well. Although it is difficult to have a piece of relevant information regarding the F1 driver’s salary, using different sources, we’ll try to explain what is what and who is who in Formula 1.
1. Lewis Hamilton — Mercedes
The Only Known Constant
Lewis Hamilton is at the top of the food chain here. The British 7 times world champion is the highest-paid driver this season with an estimated salary of $30 million. A lot of zeros right there.
How come? All of them have talent, dedication, and hunger for success, but what sets them apart is high working ethics, leadership skills, consistency, and all of this may be summed up in one ingredient. And that’s called charisma.
The power to pull the whole team forward for such a long time is the thing that earned Lewis Hamilton the commodity to dictate his terms when negotiating his deal.
His consistency is amazing, as the only time he dropped the ball was in 2016 when his teammate Nico Rosberg won the title. In numbers. He won the WDC title in ‘14, ‘15, ‘17, ‘18, ‘19, and ‘20 with Mercedes. Add to the lot the ‘08 title for a total of 7 WDC.
Sure, anyone could do the same in that Mercedes F1 car, right? Well, maybe, and maybe not, but we can assure you that the guys managing the biggest team at the moment in F1 are not gamblers.
2. Max Verstappen — Red Bull Racing
Hungry Like a Wolf!
Max Verstappen is second on this list with a salary of around $25.000.000. That’s nearly as much as Lewis is making per season. But this guy never won a title?! Well, that’s a fact. But could you point out a single driver that is in better shape than Max at this moment? The young Dutch racer earns his salary because he is singled out as the only competitor to Lewis Hamilton. Could he finally break the winning golden years of the AMG Mercedes? Add the best Honda engine to date to the equation, and you have an almost unbeatable combination.
The other reason why Red Bull Racing is paying 25 mils is that the competition is watching Max closely, and they could snatch him as fast as those 2 seconds pit stops.
Can he become a WDC? Well, even though Max is 23 years old, he is a veteran in F1. He drove his first race at the age of 17! Besides, he never missed a season ever since! With time he had grown as a driver. Hell, he has even grown some mustache. Yeah, he still gets frustrated when the race doesn’t end in his way, but that is expected from a future champion. These days he just manages to hide it much better than before, showing that he is more mature. He knows where he is headed with this year’s car, and that makes him calmer.
3. Fernando Alonso — Alpine
All In!
Next on the list of highest-paid F1 drivers is no other than Fernando Alonso, with this season’s salary of around $20.000.000. He made another comeback in Renault’s F1 team; this time rebranded as Alpine. His racing craftmanship is maybe the best amongst the lot, but he is not so famous as a pleasant coworker.
Regardless, the French team needs a leader in the pursuit to regain the title. Not for this season, though—the team is building for the 2022 big rules shake. Alonso will start the 2022 season being a 40-year-old and will end it as a 41. But, if he has a decent 2021 season, and if Renault manages to build a top 3 car, he can extract an extra couple of tents of a second, as he always does, and amaze us again.
4. Sebastian Vettel — Aston Martin
Swans Song?
After a terrible last season with Ferrari, Vettel needs a very good 2021 season with his new team Aston Martin. He is a 4 time champion for a reason. Sebastian will earn a reasonable $15.000.000 for driving the green car. He is a perfectionist, which, on the one hand, makes him downbeat when things are not going to his likening, but, on the other hand, his will to pursuit great things is what makes him an exceptional driver. His technical approach will definitely help Aston Martin to move forward. We’ll closely watch his progress as all drivers that race for new teams haven’t got time to adapt in the shortest ever preseason testing. However, he showed signs of hope during the second race in Imola, in the mixed conditions.
5. Daniel Ricciardo — McLaren
Honey Badger swaps honey for speedy
Zac Brown had a soft spot for Daniel Ricciardo for a couple of years now. The stars aligned after Ferrari choose Carlos Sainz Jr. as a substitute for Vettel instead of Daniel. The Australian admitted that he couldn’t win a race with Renault, so he settled for a deal with famous and rejuvenated British team McLaren, now powered by Mercedes engines, for a salary of $15.000.000. Not as much as he got in Renault F1, but at least he now has a chance for better results. He is a proven race winner, but like Vettel, he hasn’t had much time to adapt to his new car.
6. Charles Leclerc — Ferrari
Le Protégé
This guy showed the world that he could do magic given the right tools. Charles Leclerc gained all the trust of the famous Italian team to lead them in the next chapter. That trust costs Ferrari $12.000.000 per year, and they even signed a 5-year deal. We will undoubtedly see Charles and Max battling for titles in the forthcoming seasons.
7. Valtteri Bottas — Mercedes
A team player
Valtteri Bottas is a regular point scorer and once in a while even snatches a couple of pole positions and race wins from Lewis. Can he do more than that? Sure he can. What did he need to do? Well, he needs to do Rosberg. It’s a tall task, but if he can’t do it, he’ll have 10 million reasons not to be sad about it.
8. Kimi Räikkönen — Alfa Romeo Racing
Ice Ice, Baby
Kimi Raikkonen looks uninterested from the outside, but he is still enjoying racing. He showed that in the preseason when he raced against Sainz outside and on track. He may be past his prime but still has that need for speed. Alfa Romeo pays $10.000.000 for his services. He is a huge asset in marketing terms as well.
9. Carlos Sainz Jr. — Ferrari
Smart Choice
Carlos Sainz Jr. caught the attention of Ferrari with his mature and in-depth comments. They listened to his radio conversations with his engineer while driving for McLaren, commenting on his race development and the car’s behavior. Ferrari got a lot of bang for the buck. The buck=$10.000.000.
The Others
The last over $10.000.000 per season driver is Lance Stroll. Sure, you can say that his father’s allowance is quite generous, but that would be a bit unfair. Lance had 2 big shots to win races last season, making him a valuable driver for any team.
Sergio Perez won his first race last year and won a place in Red Bull Honda for 2021. He even got a deal of around $8.000.000 when he thought that his time in F1 was over. He can surprise us this season.
Another race winner in the sub 10 mil category is Pierre Gasly, who will earn $ 5.000.000, and he is still hungry to show that he is better than what Helmut Marko thinks about him.
Lando Norris will get the same salary as Gasly, and he has another point to prove. He wants to show that he is more valuable than his new teammate Ricciardo. So no more goofing around from the both of them this season.
Esteban Ocon is in pair with Norris and Gasly. When it comes to his new salary, at least. 5 million dollars is a nice deal for the Frenchman as he didn’t do any miracle last year.
Here comes a 1 million dollar bracket. Here we have two Williams drivers, one Alfa Romeo driver, and two Haas drivers. George Russell, who is arguably one of the best in his generation but lacks the right car, Antonio Giovinazzi, who had a decent last season with one of the worst cars that Sauber ever built, and Nicholas Latifi, who hasn’t shown any sparks yet. We haven’t got any real reference for rookies, but we can expect more from Mick Schumacher as he won the 2020 Formula 2 Championship. He and Nikita Mazepin have a hard task as Haas Ferrari is anything but fast this season. No need for heroics here.
Last but (not) least is Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda driving for Alpha Tauri Honda costs $500.000. He already proved to be more than good in the first race but burned out in the second. Yuki desperately needs good guidance as he can achieve some great things.
Last Words
We face another Covid-19 season with a budget cap of $145 million for the first time in the F1 history. You can imagine the pressure building on the shoulders of these racers working during these strange circumstances. Their desire to win will sometimes be hindered because any reckless move could end up with damage that can cost the team more than just money.
The budget cap simply limits the endless spending, meaning that the new parts couldn’t be sufficient. It will influence teams to choose wisely between the drivers as speed is not everything anymore. But the drivers that are on top are always the smartest guys, so they shouldn’t worry about it. Maybe the only worry for top drivers will be the cost cap for drivers set at $30 million per driver.
