The Top 5 Highest paid Formula 1 drivers

The 2024 F1 season is here and this year we are seeing competitive drivers race for their careers and their teams. The support for F1 has significantly increased over the years with an average of 1.11 million viewers per race in 2023.

With 24 races, the longest season seen yet for this year we can predict viewership to increase, watching the battle for Verstappen’s top place and Hamilton’s last season with Mercedes.

Max Verstappen

The driver for Red Bull earning an annual salary of $45m. His first F1 season was in 2015 and since, he has grown into one of the best drivers through the seasons. He became the youngest driver and the first Dutch driver to ever win a Formula1 Grand Prix. His first win was in 2016 at the Spanish Grand Prix.

He is a Belgian and Dutch driver and a three-time World Champion who is ready again for the 2024 season. Verstappen has a signed contract with Red Bull until 2028.

Lewis Hamilton

This season will be Hamilton’s last with Mercedes after joining with them in 2013 and now is on an annual salary of $40m.

Lewis Hamilton is a British racer who started his F1 journey on McLaren’s team in 2007 and he came in second in the world drivers’ championship, only one point behind the winner.

At the end of the 2024 season Hamilton will move to Ferrari.

Charles Leclerc

Driving for Ferrari since his debut and now earning $27m. Leclerc is from Monaco and began his F1 journey in 2018 debuting in the Australian Grand Prix.

Leclerc’s rising reputation has seen him land some lucrative sponsorships with the likes of Italian luxury clothing brand Giorgio Armani and sunglasses brand Ray-Ban, while Swiss luxury watchmaker Richard Mille has been a long-time backer of Leclerc throughout his junior ranks.

Leclerc has also launched his own karting company in association with Birel ART to help give more opportunities to the potential next generation of Formula 1 superstars.

Lando Norris

A British and Belgian driver for McLaren earing $16m on annual salary.  Norris started his career at F1 in 2019 with McLaren and has stayed with them since they swooped him up.

In the 2023 Norris took 7 podiums in the second half of the season so we are excited to watch to see what he brings in 2024.

George Russell

Russell is an English driver for Mercedes and earns £14m. In 2017, Russel was first invited by Mercedes to join their junior program. He took his first F1 win in 2022 and Mercedes’s only win that year in Brazil.

As of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Russell has achieved one victory, one pole position, six fastest laps and eleven podium finishes in his career.