Top-5 Formula 1 drivers who earn the most money

This 2021 comes with various changes in the most important motor sport in the world, after two teams changed their names, the arrival of two new drivers and the team change of others. These modifications (added to the economic crisis caused by the pandemic which still affects the income of Formula 1) have caused the pilots' salaries to go through a correction and, as in all sports, those who have better performance and are more media relevant – with a notable difference – have better contracts. These are the Top-5 Formula 1 drivers who earn the most money, according to research from The Sun :

5. Carlos Sainz

The Spaniard and new Ferrari driver has received a considerable increase in his salary after leaving McLaren, since he will now enter an estimated 8.28 million euros in the 2021 season, a noticeable improvement compared to 2020 when he received 4.5 million euros at McLaren . Sainz's contract with Ferrari is until 2022, so the European press assures that the brevity of the agreement will put pressure on the Spanish pilot, who declared that “no matter how many years is the contract, I am the first who wants to be the best from the first moment ”, according to Planet F1.

4. Daniel Ricciardo

The 31-year-old Australian driver appears in the top 5 despite cutting his salary by almost half after leaving Renault to join McLaren. Ricciardo will now have a base salary of 11.6 million euros for 2021, when in 2020 he received 20 million . According to News, Ricciardo could earn much more due to the bonuses included in his contract, such as 1 million euros for each race he wins (in 2020 he did not win any), in addition to 400 thousand euros each time he adds points. For this reason, the Australian has strong chances of earning much more money.

3. Charles Leclerc

With only 23 years old and with a contract with Ferrari until 2024, the Monaco-born driver is going through a good economic moment despite the poor performance of the Italian team. Leclerc has a base salary of 11.6 million euros , which indicates that there was an increase compared to the 9 million euros entered in the previous season . Ferrari is the only team that has its two drivers in the top 5 highest paid in Formula 1.

2. Max Verstappen

23 years old and with a great performance, the Belgian, is by far, the second best driver in Formula 1 (only behind the unbeatable Lewis Hamilton) and the only one with the ability to break the power of Mercedes due to the performance he squeezes out of his Red Bull. This has its financial reward, for which Verstappen earns a base salary of 20.7 million euros . Competing is important for Verstappen, for this reason the Belgian – who has a contract until the end of 2023 – could leave the team for free at any time if certain performance parameters are not met by the car, according to Car and Driver .

1. Lewis Hamilton

It's no surprise that the winningest driver of the last decade is the highest paid by far. Hamilton will earn a salary of 45.5 million euros after renewing his contract recently in February 2021 and closing all the controversy surrounding it. However, the new agreement only secures one season as, according to Mercedes CEO Toto Wolff, 2022 will be a year with profound changes in the Formula 1 regulations and there is still uncertainty about the economic impact that the race may have for company, so Wolff assured that at the end of the year they will resume negotiations as reported by As .

Also read: Exciting Changes! This is how Formula 1 arrives in 2021

It should be noted that despite becoming a seven-time champion, Hamilton had to settle for not increasing his salary. According to 20 Minutes, the Briton expected to receive 50 million euros and a three-season contract , but the pandemic effect did not allow Mercedes to accept those conditions. In addition, part of the new agreement includes the financing of a project between Hamilton and Mercedes to encourage diversity within Formula 1.

Special mention: Sergio “checo” Perez

The only Latin American driver in Formula 1. The Mexican will debut with Red Bull, the second best team in the competition, where he will go on to earn 4.9 million euros plus bonuses – ninth highest paid driver – , which is not much different compared to the 4 million he received with Racing Point -where he was fired to make some space for Vettel-. In addition, Perez will have to demonstrate high performance, since his contract only stipulates one season, so he could be left without a team again in 2022.