How much do Formula One drivers earn?
According to the Spanish newspaper *El Mundo*, Fernando Alonso remains the highest-paid driver in Formula One with earnings of 30 million euros, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Sebastian Vettel, the reigning double world champion, is "only" fourth, while Romain Grosjean, the top French driver, earns one million euros annually.

According to information based on the Business Book GP, published by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, it is revealed that the Spaniard Fernando Alonso receives the highest salary on the grid with a total of 30 million euros per year.
The income of the Spanish driver is equivalent to the salaries of 1,748 French people paid at the minimum wage, with the minimum wage in 2013 being €1,430.22 gross per month (or €17,162 annually).
It should be noted, however, that only the salaries of the drivers paid by the teams were taken into account in this ranking. Advertising and ancillary incomes were not included.
One might also be surprised by the salary of the two-time reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, who is only fourth in this ranking and therefore earns three times less than Fernando Alonso and as much as Mark Webber.
Furthermore, while there was a time when Michael Schumacher was the highest-paid driver on the grid, he now finds himself only in eighth position with a total nonetheless approaching 8 million euros.
Our French drivers, Romain Grosjean, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Charles Pic earn respectively 1 million euros, 400,000 euros, and 150,000 euros.
Paul di Resta and Bruno Senna are the least paid drivers who score the most points. Let’s not doubt that their situation is likely to change if their contracts are renegotiated at the end of the season. Just like the situation of Lewis Hamilton, who is on an equal salary footing with his teammate Jenson Button. If Hamilton were to stay with McLaren, a raise in his salary would surely be at the heart of discussions since there is already talk of a proposal from McLaren amounting to 25 million euros.
Here is the complete list:
Drivers | Teams | Income | |
1 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 30 million euros |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 16 million euros |
= | Jenson Button | McLaren | 16 million euros |
4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 10 million euros |
= | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 10 million euros |
= | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 10 million euros |
= | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 10 million euros |
8 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 8 million euros |
9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus | 5 million euros |
10 | Heïkki Kovalainen | Caterham | 4 million euros |
11 | Timo Glock | Marussia | 3 million euros |
12 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber | 1 million euros |
= | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1 million euros |
14 | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India | 500,000 euros |
= | Sergio Perez | Sauber | 500,000 euros |
= | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham | 500,000 euros |
= | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT | 500,000 euros |
18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams | 400,000 euros |
= | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 400,000 euros |
= | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 400,000 euros |
21 | Bruno Senna | Williams | 250,000 euros |
= | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT | 250,000 euros |
23 | Paul di Resta | Force India | 200,000 euros |
24 | Charles Pic | Marussia | 150,000 euros |