Mercedes AMG Petronas driver George Russell (63) and driver Lewis Hamilton (44) congratulate Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) on his world drivers championship victory at the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas Circuit.

formula-1

F1 Driver Salary – How Much Do Formula 1 Drivers Get Paid? Who are the Highest Paid Drivers in F1 in 2025?

Formula 1 Driver Salary for the 2025 season

Formula 1 is an extreme sport. The 20 drivers participating in a Formula 1 race battle through speeds more than 300 kmph on a regular basis. these drivers race hard and conduct dangerous overtaking manoeuvres on each other. The Formula 1 drivers compete together for the Formula 1 driver championship and help their teams in the Formula 1 constructor’s championship. The event is often recognised as the, “pinnacle of motorsports”. Thus, winning a championship is the biggest dream of a Formula 1 driver.

Formula 1 teams pay hefty salaries to the top-performing drivers during a season. Almost every Formula 1 team has a set contract with their drivers. Under these contracts, the teams are bound to pay a base salary to the drivers. Additionally, teams also pay bonus on basis of the points and podiums earned by the drivers throughout the season. Formula 1 salary is among the highest in the motorsports. The glitz and glamour of Formula 1 is supported by these contracts and extravagant salaries earned by their drivers. The salary figures mentioned ahead are sourced from Spotrac’s official data for 2025 season.

What Is the Salary of F1 Drivers?

The Formula 1 salary hierarchy is dependent on the team and the past performances of a driver in the championship. A driver also earns more if he has a good sponsor. The average salary of some of the top drivers of the grid range between $20-30 million a year. If we go down towards the midfield of the grid, the drivers earn nearly $10 million a year. When it comes to the rookies, or the drivers in some of the backmarker teams. The salary is usually limited to $5 million or less.

Who Is the Highest Paid Driver in the 2025 Formula 1 Season?

Spotrac has ranked Max Verstappen as the highest paid driver of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Verstappen is a four-time consecutive world champion racing for Red Bull Racing. According to the latest figures as of 2025, Max Verstappen will be earning $65 million a year with Red Bull as his base salary. Verstappen will be given additional bonuses which have not been revealed on basis of the pointe earned by him and the podiums he claims throughout the season.

Max Verstappen has been carrying Red Bull since 2022 almost singlehandedly. He spearheaded Red Bull in the 2023 Constructor’s championship by amassing wins throughout the season. Verstappen claimed more than double the points of the runner up driver in the 2023 Formula 1 Driver’s Championship.

Top 5 Highest Paid F1 Drivers in 2025

Spotrac’s 2025 Formula 1 Salary rankings have listed out the highest paid drivers of Formula 1 as-

Rank	Driver	Salary	Team
1.	Max Verstappen	$65 million	Red Bull Racing
2.	Lewis Hamilton	$60 million	Scuderia Ferrari
3.	Charles Leclerc	$34 million	Scuderia Ferrari
4.	Fernando Alonso	$20 million	Aston Martin
5.	Lando Norris	$20 million	McLaren

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

Rohan Singh

nhl

I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.