Formula 1 driver compensation figures are rarely made publicly available but performance clauses, win bonuses and much more are taken into consideration when looking at what constitutes a driver’s final income for a season, in addition to the basic pay the driver is able to negotiate.
This makes the drivers among some of the highest earning sportsmen in the world. Forbes recently published their list of the 10 highest-paid drivers of the season, stating that pay across this top 10 increased by 23% this year. Combined, Formula 1’s top 10 earners raked in $317 million on the track in 2024, according to Forbes estimates.
Forbes did not include sponsorship and endorsement income but made the calculation based on “financial documents, legal filings and press reports, as well as conversations with industry insiders.”
For three consecutive years, Max Verstappen is the highest-paid driver on the track, with estimated 2024 earnings of $75 million, including a series-record $60 million in salary to go with $15 million in performance bonuses, Forbes wrote.
Hamilton comes in second with an estimated $55 million in salary and $2 million in bonuses at age 39. The British is also the only black person on the list. He has been on top of the podium twice in 2024, in an emotional home victory at Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, as per Forbes.
In February, he announced that he would leave Mercedes for the Prancing Horse next year. Forbes estimates “the contract will catapult him back ahead of Verstappen to set an F1 salary record.”
Mirror reports that his contract for two seasons, with an option for a third in 2027, is worth around £100m ($127m) in total which would mean £50m ($63m) per year.
Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the biggest celebrities in Formula One in contemporary times. The British racing driver has won seven world championships and he looks set to achieve more laurels.
He debuted in 2007 with McLaren. The following year, he declared his intention to the world after winning his first World Championship. Hamilton moved to Mercedes in 2013 and changed the fortunes of the team.
His success on the field means that he is also one of the top athletes who earn big worldwide. In 2018, he signed a two-year contract with Mercedes worth $100 million, giving him a base salary of $30 million annually. Also, he ranked 13th on Forbes world’s highest-paid athlete in 2020 with an annual salary of $42 million.
His popularity also makes him attractive to global brands. In 2018, he went into a collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger to promote its line of menswear, underwear, and swimwear. He also came to have endorsement deals from Monster Energy, Puma, IWC, Sony, Bose, Bell Helmets, MV Agusta Motorcycles, and Vodafone.
Aside from his endorsement deals, he is also an entrepreneur. He invested in the NFL’s Denver Broncos in 2022. He is also the co-founder of the world’s inaugural distilled non-alcoholic blue agave spirit called Almave. He co-founded the brand alongside agave expert and Casa Lumbre Co-Founder & Master Distiller Iván Saldaña.
Almave is the only non-alcoholic product to use the coveted Blue Agave. Similar to tequila, Almave is made from the same raw materials in the same part of Mexico but without the fermentation process where the liquid becomes alcohol.
Hamilton, like many celebrities, loves to spend on luxurious estates. In 2017, he bought a New York penthouse for $43.9 million. He, however, listed the property for $57 million. He also became the owner of a four-story mansion with six bedrooms in Kensington, West London that was built in 1860 and is worth $25 million. The Mercedes driver also came to own apartments in Nyon, a suburb of Geneva, Switzerland, and Monaco, according to reports.
