F1 Driver Salaries 2023: Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton WAY out in front

Stuart Hodge
Saturday 25 February 2023 06:00 - Updated: 10:01

F1 is now in the budget cap era, which means money to develop cars is tighter, but that won't impact driver salaries in 2023, just as it didn't during the 2022 season.

The contract teams give their drivers is exempt from the cap, meaning those at the front of the grid will remain some of the highest-paid sports stars around.

But just how much does each driver earn as the 2023 season gets underway? Let's take a look.

Salary for every F1 driver in 2023

Salaries for F1 drivers are notoriously difficult to pin down; there can be a range of external elements such as contract upgrades and bonuses which makes it hard to identify just how much each driver earns.

In 2022 Max Verstappen penned one of the most lucrative deals for a driver in F1 history and was then financially rubbing shoulders with rival Lewis Hamilton. That will continue into the 2023 season, with both men holding clear financial dominance over the remainder of the grid.

The reigning F1 champion signed a five-year extension to an already existing agreement last year, which now sees him tied to Red Bull through to the end of 2028.

But the size of Verstappen’s contract is the cause of much debate. In 2022 it was reportedly worth £33m per year, pushing the Dutchman narrowly ahead of Hamilton, whose most recent F1 contract with Mercedes - signed in early July last year - is understood to be worth £31m per year.

But some recent reports suggest that Verstappen's salary WAY out in front of Hamilton and indeed everyone else on the grid, with him earning £45m per season, a full £14m more than his rival.

What is clear, however, is Verstappen and Hamilton are comfortably the two highest-paid drivers in F1. Charles Leclerc is next, receiving approximately £20m from Ferrari yearly. He is just ahead of Aston Martin new boy Fernando Alonso (£16.7m) while Lando Norris is now easily the highest paid driver at McLaren following the departure of Daniel Ricciardo. Norris, one of the most promising up-and-coming stars in the sport, earns £16m.

F1's lowest paid drivers

Outside of what can now be deemed as 'the big four', the numbers begin to take a steep drop-off. Next is Leclerc's partner at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz, who pockets close to £10m per year.

There is a lack of clarity around Fernando Alonso's salary. He was among the top earning drivers in 2022, with his Alpine contract guaranteeing him £16m per season. And although he is replacing Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin - the German was on a huge salary of his own - reports suggest that the Spaniard has taken a significant cut to join, to as low as £4m. This number is very much up for debate and we reckon it's closer to the likes of Sergio Perez than the back of the grid.

Particularly when the likes of Perez at Red Bull and Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas are collecting £8m each for their drives this year. George Russell, in his second year at Mercedes, is next at £6m.

Esteban Ocon & Pierre Gasly are earning around £4.5m each to drive for Alpine this year, while Kevin Magnussen is collecting a little less - around £4m - to drive for Haas.

Next is Alex Albon, earning £2.5m at Williams, before the regular teams at the back of grid all pay their drivers roughly the same.

If you have F1 race experience - in the case of Zhou Guanyu, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg - you can expect to earn around £1.6m for the season. Behind them are the new arrivals Nyck de Vries, Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant, with Yuki Tsunoda sandwiched in between.

Does the F1 budget cap affect driver salaries?

As mentioned, driver salaries are kept separate from the budget cap. Indeed the salaries of the three highest-paid employees are exempt, which in virtually all cases will include the team principals as well.

Other items which are kept exempt include marketing costs and utility bills incurred by the teams.