Formula 1 is one of the most elite sports on the planet. Unlike soccer or baseball, this sport can’t be played in school and requires quite a substantial financial investment to get started. While the grid is usually filled with already wealthy individuals, the sport generates an incredible amount of money through its viewership and sponsors.
This translates to Formula 1 having some of the highest-paid athletes in the world. These insane figures have recently come to light as the sport’s youngsters have all recently signed new long-term deals that will see them become part of the world’s ultra-rich. Want to find out exactly how rich the current F1 drivers are? Here’s a full breakdown:
10. Esteban Ocon – $20 Million
While this may shock many F1 fans, Esteban Ocon is worth a decent $20 million. Despite being young, Ocon has been in Formula 1 since 2016. During this time, Ocon has raced for Force India, Racing Point, Renault, Alpine, and even Mercedes as a test driver in 2019.
9. Valtteri Bottas – $40 Million
Despite being the long-term teammate of Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas was making a quarter of the money the former World Champion was bringing in. Lucky for Bottas, a quarter of what Hamilton made was still a cozy $10 million a year.
After his five years with the team, Bottas has left for Alfa Romeo on a four-year contract, keeping his earnings at $10 million per year. This makes Bottas worth around $35 to $50 million.
8. Daniel Ricciardo – $60 Million
Daniel Ricciardo left Australia with virtually no money at the tender age of 13. Little did he know that he would turn out to be one of the most charismatic, popular, and wealthy motorsport drivers in the world.
Daniel has earned over $20 million a year at Red Bull, Renault, and McLaren, while also investing in other ventures such as property and his own brand of wine. This has allowed him to sit comfortably with a net worth of around $50 to $75 million
7. Sergio Perez – $75 Million
While you may not have seen his name in the headlines with record-breaking contracts, Sergio Perez has one major factor to consider: time. Perez has been raking in the F1 checks since his debut back in 2011.
If you add up all his F1 earnings, sponsorship deals, and his personal sponsorship from Telmex, it doesn’t seem that crazy for the Mexican to be worth around $70 to $80 million
6. Max Verstappen – $90 Million
Just like Ocon, Max Verstappen has been in Formula 1 for an incredibly long time. Despite being only 24 years old in 2021, the Dutchman has been in F1 since his debut in 2016 for Toro Rosso. Max was quickly promoted to the Red Bull team and was given a massive contract upgrade in 2018.
5. Sebastian Vettel – $150 Million
Sebastian Vettel is one of the most successful F1 drivers in history. With 4 consecutive Drivers and Constructors’ Championship Titles to his name, Sebastian moved from Red Bull to Ferrari just in time to challenge Hamilton.
Despite being unsuccessful, Vettel cashed some serious checks from Ferrari and various sponsors during this time. Vettel invested in many green-energy companies across Europe, but also put a significant amount of his net worth into a staggering car collection. This brought his net worth to a staggering $150 million.
4. Fernando Alonso – $225 Million
Fernando Alonso has been cashing F1 money since the Australian Grand Prix in 2001. While his earnings may not have been close to that of Hamilton and Verstappen, Alonso has been earning more than $20 million a year in his last few seasons in Formula 1.
Alonso also owns his own clothing brand, Kimoa. This, along with other personal investments, has contributed to an eye-watering net worth of around $200 – $250 million.
3. Lewis Hamilton – $325 Million
The 7x World Champion has undoubtedly raked in the millions over the years. As the sport’s highest-paid driver, Lewis is also a massive celebrity that has sponsorship deals with Tommy Hilfiger, Police, Monster Energy, IWC, Sony, Bose, and Puma.
2. Nicholas Latifi – $2 Billion
Nicholas Latifi may not have had the best start to his Formula 1 career, but when it comes to getting paid, this Canadian F1 driver does not need to worry. His contract with Williams is only for $1,2 million a year, despite bringing over $30 million to the Williams team every year.
1. Lance Stroll – $2.9 Billion
Another famous pay driver is the son of Aston Martin owner, Lance Stroll. Laurence Stroll started his journey in F1 as a partial owner of the Williams team where his son drove before moving to Aston Martin.
Once Laurence Stroll purchased the team, Lance moved over and earns a decent $10 million a year. While this isn’t the biggest salary in the Paddock, Stroll isn’t keen on taking much more from the family business, as he must feel pretty content with his family’s $2.9 billion net worth.