F1 salaries: who are the highest paid drivers in 2023

Formula One world champion Max Verstappen had a dream 2022 season, holding on to his crown with ease and races to spare. While Charles Lecerc’ challenge in his Ferrari looked serious early on, ultimately it was the Red Bull driver who slipped into another gear as he won the drivers' title by a massive 146 points from the Monegasque, with Sergio Perez back in third. A disappointing season was had by Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time champion, as he finished sixth in the standings without a Grand Prix victory and was overshadowed by his colleague George Russell as both drivers battled reliability troubles. Despite the setback, the highest-paid Formula One driver for 2022 was Hamilton; but, has the financial landscape shifted before the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5? According to spotrac, an online sports team and player contract database, the Formula One drivers' annual earnings for the 2023 F1 season. 

Who is the most highly paid driver of F1?

Verstappen has been compensated for bringing home the F1 big showdown for the last two seasons. Additionally, in 2023 , he will procure a compensation of $55 million, as per spotrac.com, taking him in front of Hamilton interestingly. Moreover, F1 is an outcomes business, so it's no significant shock that Red Bull's Maximum Verstappen is supposedly the most generously compensated driver on the network this season.

In pursuit of his third drivers' championship in succession, the Dutchman is anticipated to earn $55 million in 2023. Seven-time best on the planet Lewis Hamilton follows Verstappen, with the Mercedes driver in line to get a compensation of $35 million this season. Besides, a few drivers, none of whom have won a World Championship, are claiming pay packages totaling in the tens of millions of dollars. Among them are Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who will stash $24 million from the Scuderia in 2023. In 2023, Carlos Sainz will share in his $12 million payday.

Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen's teammate, will receive $10 million in 2023, while Valtteri Bottas, who left Mercedes to join Alfa Romeo on a long-term contract at the end of 2021, will receive $10 million annually. The youngest of the earners with double digit earnings has not yet won his first Formula One race: For the year 2023, McLaren is reportedly paying Lando Norris a salary of $20 million.

Who is the least paid F1 driver?

Naturally, rookie drivers and those driving cars at the bottom of the grid earn less money. Despite earning significantly less than the best drivers, they are compensated well for their services. This season, AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda and American rookie Logan Sargeant are both making approximately $1 million, placing them at the bottom of the pay scale.

Even though Tsunoda is only in his third season in Formula One, he still has a rookie-level contract. On the other hand, the Williams debut is being made by Sargeant this season. And the same amount has been paid to him as everyone else on the grid. In 2023, some of the lowest-paid drivers in Formula One are made up of rookie drivers. Approximately, $1 million each is expected to be brought back by Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries.

Oscar Piastri, a fellow rookie, has earned a $2 million salary. However, he enters Formula One following a contract dispute between Alpine and McLaren and winning the Formula 2 title in 2021. Zhou Guanyu might receive $2 million from Alfa Romeo, and Lance Stroll, despite being the son of team owner Lawrence Stroll, is believed to be making a relatively low salary.

The 20 F1 drivers and their salaries

What amount will each F1 driver acquire in 2023?

In 2023, every Formula One driver will make at least one million dollars, and 18 of the 20 drivers on the grid will make at least double that amount. Oscar Piastri and Nyck De Vries are both rookies and fall into that category. However, De Vries is awaiting the outcome of a legal dispute to determine whether or not he will be able to keep all of that. Individual tenderfoot Logan Sargeant, and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda, are the most reduced paid drivers on the network. Furthermore, Valtteri Bottas is the main driver from the base portion of the 2022 title. In order to sit in the main ten of compensation charges, he's paid equivalent to Sergio Perez who took two race triumphs in 2022.