Top 11 Highest Paid Formula 1 Drivers

Ever wanted to know who earns the most money in Formula 1? Big wins bring in big money, We break down the Top 11 highest paid formula 1 drivers.

Highest Earning F1 Drivers

We’re excluding driver’s personal sponsorship deals amounts (e.g. Jensen Button Santander promotion pay) as, this is money earned privately by the driver and is not available to public eyes or is often part of their race contract.  For each driver, I will mention the estimated amount the driver is paid, contract length, his talent in the sport and his potential. Also, I will include how much endorsement the driver does outside of the sport and the estimated pay for these deals and I will tell you whether or not he is worth his pay cheque.

11. Pastor Maldonado

The young Venezuelan driver currently earns €3,000,000 at the Lotus Mercedes team and has a contract to continue to drive for the team through to the end of 2015. The former race winner has struggled this year with the new rules in the sport for 2014 and has been in a few accidents and incidents throughout the season.  Pastor is a great driver on the right day with the potential to win in the right car, so has huge potential and brings a lot of sponsorship money to the team from his Venezuelan oil sponsors, clearly noticeable on his race livery. Pastor is rather a private individual and does no endorsement or sponsorship deals outside of his required commitments to the team. Therefore, he is worth his pay check just for the money he brings to the team through sponsorship, not to mention his talent which seems quite high and he is a quick driver.

10. Romain Grosjean

The young French driver also earns €3,000,000 at the Lotus Mercedes team. One of the future stars of the sport, Romain showed his potential and talent last year fighting at the front of the grid and has dominated his team mate throughout this year. He also brings sponsorship money to the team from “Total” and this has helped him get to this stage of his career and is paid for promoting the company through his race contract. He has the potential to fight for the World Championship in the right car and is definitely worth his pay cheque.

9. Sergio Perez

The young Mexican driver earns €3,000,000 at the Sahara Force India Mercedes team. Famous for his tyre saving abilities in F1, Sergio showed his potential and talent at the start of his career but his unsuccessful time at McLaren last year meant he was dropped from the team for a rookie. He has since moved to Sahara Force India Mercedes where he has performed great in some races earning the team their second ever podium in the sport but hasn’t been as consistent as his team mate. He also brings sponsorship money to the team and this has helped him get to this stage of his career and is paid for promoting the company through his race contract. He has the potential to fight for victories in the right car and is definitely worth his pay cheque, just for the money he brings to the team through sponsorship, not to mention his talent that seems quite high and he is a good race driver.

8. Nico Hulkenberg

The experienced German driver earns €4,000,000 at the Sahara Force India Mercedes team. Famous for his consistency in F1, Nico showed his potential and talent at the start of his career and throughout but has been unsuccessful to move to a big team. Instead, he has moved to a number of midfield teams including Williams and Sauber but with Sahara Force India Mercedes he has performed great in some races with him leading a number of GP’s. His consistency is almost unmatchable and he has easily beaten his team mate this season with consistency. He doesn’t bring sponsorship money to the team and that hasn’t helped him get to this stage of his career but his talent is huge and talent overall prevails in F1 and he has the potential to fight for victories in the right car and is definitely worth his pay cheque, his talent seems very high and is a good, consistent race driver.

7. Felipe Massa

The older Brazilian driver earns €4,000,000 at the Martini Williams Mercedes team and has got a contract until 2016 with the team. Famous for being the closest driver to Winning the World Championship, Felipe showed his potential and talent at the start of his career and throughout and has been a Ferrari driver for 9 years but was unsuccessful to stay at Ferrari so, moved to the Martini Williams Mercedes team. He has performed great in some races this year with him winning a number of GP’s throughout his career. His accident in 2009 almost ended his career and he was easily beaten by his team mate last season with inconsistency. He doesn’t bring huge sponsorship money to the team and that hasn’t helped him get to this stage of his career but, his talent is huge and talent overall prevails in F1 and he has the potential to fight for victories in the right car and is definitely worth his pay cheque, his talent seems very high and is a good race driver on the right day.

6. Nico Rosberg

The experienced German driver earns €12,000,000 at the PETRONAS Mercedes AMG team and has got a contract until 2016. Famous for his being the son of Keke Rosberg in F1, Nico showed his potential and talent at the start of his career at Williams and has been successful to move to a bigger team with him winning a number of GP’s and fighting for the 2014 World Championship. His consistency isn’t brilliant and he wouldn’t be called the quickest driver but he has beaten his team mate this season in a number races, often through being quicker on the day. He doesn’t bring sponsorship money to the team and that hasn’t helped him get to this stage of his career but his talent is huge and talent overall prevails in F1 and he has the potential to fight for the World Championship and is definitely worth his salary. His talent seems very high and is a good race driver who could be World Champion in a couple of weeks.

5. Jensen Button

The most experienced driver on the grid earns €16,000,000 at the McLaren-Honda team. Famous for his super mixed conditions ability in F1, Jensen is one three British drivers on the 2014 grid and showed his potential and talent at the start of his career at Williams and throughout joining teams like Benetton, BAR and Honda before winning the wold Championship with BRAWN. He has been successful enough to move to a bigger team with him winning a number of GP’s at McLaren Mercedes and fighting for the a couple of World Championships. His wet weather driving ability is almost unmatchable and he has beaten his team mate this season in a number races, often through being so consistent. He doesn’t bring sponsorship money to the team and that hasn’t helped him get to this stage of his career but his talent is huge and talent overall prevails in F1 and he has the potential to fight for World Championships and is definitely worth his pay cheque, his talent seems very high and is a good, consistent race driver.

4. Lewis Hamilton

The experienced, British World Champion earns €20,000,000 at the PETRONAS Mercedes AMG team and has got a contract until 2015. Famous for his pure speed and overtaking ability in F1, Lewis showed his potential and talent at the start of his career at McLaren and won the World Championship in 2008 in his second season and is fighting for the 2014 World Championship. His outright speed is almost unmatchable and he has beaten his team mate this season in most of the races often through being so quick. He doesn’t bring sponsorship money to the team and that hasn’t helped him get to this stage of his career but his talent is huge and talent overall prevails in F1 and he has the potential to fight for the World Championship and is definitely worth his pay cheque his talent which, seems very high and is a good quick race driver and is 2x World Champion.

3. Kimi Raikkonen

The older Finnish driver earns €22,000,000 at the Ferrari team and has got a contract until 2015. Famous for Winning the World Championship in 2007 Kimi showed his potential and talent at the start of his career at Sauber and McLaren and has been a Ferrari driver on two separate occasions, with him having a sabbatical and driving for Lotus Renault in-between. He has performed great in some races with him winning a number of GP’s. He has been beaten by his team mate this season with inconsistency and poor performances mainly through disliking the new 2014 cars. He doesn’t, bring huge sponsorship money to the team and that hasn’t helped him get to this stage of his career but his talent is huge and talent overall prevails in F1 and he has the potential to fight for victories and World Championships in the right car and is definitely worth his pay cheque his talent seems very high and is a good race driver on the right day.

2. Sebastian Vettel

The 4-time World Champion earns €22,000,000 at the Infiniti Red Bull Racing team and has got a contract for 2015 but is joining Ferrari for 2015 and beyond. Famous for Winning the World Championship four years in a row, the experienced German showed his potential and talent at the start of his career at Toro Rosso winning their first ever race and then moved to Red Bull Racing and never looked back. He has performed great in some races with him winning many GP’s I his career but, has struggled this year and has been beaten by his team mate this season with inconsistency and reliability issues. He doesn’t, bring huge sponsorship money to the team and that hasn’t helped him get to this stage of his career but, his talent is huge and talent overall prevails in F1 and he has the potential to fight for victories and World Championships in the right car and is definitely worth his pay cheque his talent seems very, very high and is a good, race driver and on the right day, will dominate a race from the front.

1. Fernando Alonso

The older Spanish driver, earns €25,000,000 at the McLaren-Honda team and has got a contract for 2015. Famous for Winning the World Championship in 2005 and 2006, Fernando Alonso showed his potential and talent at the start of his career at Minardi, Renault and McLaren and has been a Ferrari driver for the last 5 years without any big success. He has performed great in some races with him winning many GP’s in his career and performing well in nearly every race. Easily beating his team mate this season with consistency and solid performances. He does, bring huge sponsorship money to the team and that has helped him get to this stage of his career but, his talent is also huge and he has the potential to fight for victories and World Championships in the right car and is definitely worth his pay check, his talent which, seems very high and is the best race driver in the day. Are you surprised with the list highest paid formula 1 drivers? Let us know in the comment section.