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F1 drivers are some of the most talented athletes in the world. They drive arguably the fastest cars on the planet and race each other throughout the year. Hence, it is safe to say that they earn a healthy amount as well. Many F1 fans might be curious to know exactly how much money these racing drivers bank each year.
It is easy to guess that drivers like Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and others from top teams earn the most on the grid. However, when the salaries of all the drivers are revealed, people might be surprised to see some drivers earning much more than expected, and vice versa.
Here is the complete table of all the drivers, their teams, the salary they earn each year, and their current contract length. All the figures listed below are only estimates.
Max Verstappen is the biggest earner on the F1 grid. Red Bull renewed the Dutchman's contract in March 2022 for a whopping $55 million per year. It is a long-term contract that will end in 2028.
Next comes Lewis Hamilton, who earns around $36 million per year as of now. However, there have been talks about his contract renewal, where Mercedes might increase his salary and add a special bonus if he wins yet another world championship.
Of course, newcomers like Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant, Nyck de Vries, and returnee Nico Hulkenberg earn far less than other established drivers on the grid.
FIA president declares multiple race directors for F1
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently declared that F1 will once again rely on multiple race directors for the 2023 F1 season. He believes that the sport is too big to be handled by an individual. Speaking at a media briefing at the Dakar Rally, Ben Sulayem said:
“There is a process now and I have a team who is going through a proper process and training for stewarding, and for race directors. You cannot just have one race director and rely on them. I see that we should prepare the second role. We cannot rely in the biggest discipline that we have, or any other discipline.”
He also encouraged a training process through which the FIA would find new race directors and stewards. Ben Sulayem's team is reaching out to various ASNs (Autorité Sportive Nationale – National Sporting Authority), asking them to send junior race directors and stewards so that they can be trained to supervise bigger racing series in the future. He said:
“I am a big believer that there is, somewhere in the world, better race directors than anyone, better stewards. Now we are reaching to the ASNs and we are asking them to send us people for the training, and we have a proper team now for the training. You will get good [officials]. I promise this.”
After a controversial 2021 F1 season, where Michael Masi made some questionable decisions during races, the FIA wants at least two race directors to share the load of supervising the sport.
