Formula 1: Top 10 highest paid drivers of 2021 revealed
By Asher Fair
Forbes recently revealed the 10 highest paid Formula 1 drivers among the 20 currently competing in the sport, and there may be a few surprises.
While Formula 1‘s budget cap of $145 million was introduced ahead of the 2021 season, driver salaries are exempt from the cap calculation.
Driver salaries will remain among the few line items which deep-pocketed teams will be able to throw cash at in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors in the driver market, even when that cap is further reduced to $135 million for 2023.
Related Story. F1 decision backfires. light
In fact, with so many items included under the cap, it is expected that some of the richer teams will even be able to fork over more money to top drivers in the near future.
More from Formula One
- Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
- Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
- Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
- Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
- Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points
This will effectively create a situation where the highest paid drivers will be paid even greater amounts for their services.
For the 2021 season, the highest paid driver is exactly who you’d expect it to be — the same driver who has been the highest paid driver in Formula 1 since the 2014 season. The next highest driver on the list is who you’d expected it to be as well. But further down the top 10, there are a few drivers — and money amounts — that may come as a surprise to some.
Here are the top 10, including base salary for the 2021 season, year to date bonuses, and projected bonuses. All monetary figures listed are provided by Forbes.
No. 1 – Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
- Salary: $55 million
- Bonuses: $4 million to date, $3 million more projected
- Total: $62 million
No. 2 – Max Verstappen, Red Bull
- Salary: $25 million
- Bonuses: $5 million to date, $12 million more projected
- Total: $42 million
No. 3 – Fernando Alonso, Alpine
- Salary: $25 million
- Bonuses: N/A
- Total: $25 million
No. 4 – Sergio Perez, Red Bull
- Salary: $5 million
- Bonuses: $5.5 million to date, $7.5 more projected
- Total: $18 million
No. 5 – Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin
- Salary: $15 million
- Bonuses: N/A
- Total: $15 million
No. 6 – Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
- Salary: $12 million
- Bonuses: N/A
- Total: $12 million
No. 7 (tie) – Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
- Salary: $10 million
- Bonuses: N/A
- Total: $10 million
No. 7 (tie) – Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren
- Salary: $10 million
- Bonuses: N/A
- Total: $10 million
No. 9 – Lando Norris, McLaren
- Salary: $3 million
- Bonuses: $2.5 million to date, $3.5 more projected
- Total: $9 million
No. 10 – Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari
- Salary: $8 million
- Bonuses: N/A
- Total: $8 million
Top 25 Formula 1 drivers of all-time. dark. Next
Not among the top 10 highest paid drivers currently in Formula 1 are AlphaTauri teammates Pierre Gasly and rookie Yuki Tsunoda, Alfa Romeo teammates Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi, Williams teammates George Russell and Nicholas Latifi, Haas rookie teammates Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, Alpine’s Esteban Ocon and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.