It’s time to take stock
Once the 2023 Formula 1 season has ended, it is time for the drivers to rest and recharge, in view of a next year that will be even more exhausting with 24 GPs scheduled and the now ‘usual’ six Sprint races as a backdrop. But the winter break, as well as gathering ideas, is also useful for doing something account in the pocket of the protagonists of the Circus. In this undertaking, as happens every year, the American magazine Forbes, point of reference for what concerns financial information at a global level. Forbes has put together the ‘base’ salaries of the 20 drivers present on the grid and the respective bonuses given by the teams based on the results of the individual races and the season to draw up a ranking of the ten highest paid drivers in F1. From a methodological point of view, it is right to underline that the data does not take into account revenues deriving from off-track sponsorships.
Verstappen master
Predictably, there is leading the ranking Max Verstappen, The dominator of the 2023 season, capable of achieving 19 victories in 22 GPs and finishing on the podium on 21 occasions, left at the beginning of 2023 with the second highest salary on the grid, estimated at around 45 million dollars. However, to this must be added the countless bonuses linked to his triumphal results on the track and to win the Drivers’ world title (the third in a row) and the Constructors’ title for the Red Bull organisation. The various bonuses are around 25 million dollars, raising Verstappen to an estimated earnings, in 2023 alone, of approximately 70 million dollars. Behind the Dutchman, also placed during the season in third place among the highest paid under-25 athletes on the planet, there is obviously Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Pilot | Salary | Bonuses | Total |
Max Verstappen | $45M | $25M | $70M |
Lewis Hamilton | $55M | $0M | $55M |
Fernando Alonso | $24M | $10M | $34M |
Sergio Perez | $10M | $16M | $26M |
Charles Leclerc | $14M | $5M | $19M |
Lando Norris | $5M | $10M | $15M |
Carlos Sainz | $8M | $6M | $14M |
George Russell | $4M | $5M | $9M |
Pierre Gasly | $5M | $3M | $8M |
Oscar Piastri | $3M | $5M | $8M |
Veterans get rich
The Stevenage veteran can count on a different contract than that of the competitionwhich includes a huge fixed part – approx 55 million dollars – and a bonus linked only to winning the world title. The Mercedes standard bearer has therefore not received additional income compared to his base salary and is around 15 million dollars below Verstappen. Fernando Alonso completes the podium, who came fourth in the world championship standings at the end of his first season in the Aston Martin team. His salary of 24 million dollars was enriched by a bonus of 10 million, earned mainly thanks to the eight podiums collected during the year. Wooden medal for Sergio Perez, who added a 16 million dollar bonus to his starting salary of 10 million.
Leclerc beats Sainz
They also make an appearance in the top-10 the two Ferrari drivers: Charles Leclerc (fifth) and Carlos Sainz (seventh). The level of bonuses collected by the two Cavallino standard-bearers is similar – one million higher than that of Sainz, probably thanks to the victory in Singapore – but the starting point makes the difference, which is 14 million for Leclerc and ‘only’ eight for Spanish. There is among them Lando Norris, who deserved a 10 million dollar bonus from McLaren. Closing out the top ten positions are George Russell, Pierre Gasly and Oscar Piastri, respectively standard bearers of Mercedes, Alpine-Renault, and McLaren. It should be noted that the young Australian, in his first year in F1, managed to more than double their fixed salary thanks to bonuses obtained for his two podiums and for the victory in the Lusail Sprint race.
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