It’s good to be F1 champ. Not only does it prove that you are the best in a field that is supposed to comprise the best drivers in the world it also means you’re paid extremely well. We have a good idea of F1 driver salaries for 2019 thanks to this site and Lewis Hamilton must be smiling.

Click here to learn about the 2019 F1 rule changes.

Leading the field

Winning five titles obviously makes you sought after. As he did on the points log at the end of 2018, Lewis Hamilton also leads this list. Mercedes-AMG F1 team shelled out $57 million to the Englishman for the 2019 season, making him the best-paid sportsman among all his countrymen. And that’s just his pay cheque. Lewis must make a nice little packet from his endorsement deals and performance bonuses.

Number 2

Hamilton’s long-time rival, Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is second on the list. The German reportedly gets paid $45m for the 2019 season. Incredibly that is $41,5m more than his new teammate Charles Leclerc. Talk about a wage gap. It would be extremely funny if the four-time champ was outgunned by the young charger.

The chasing pack

F1 may be seen as the billion-dollar sport, but not everyone rakes in that GDP-kind of dosh. Daniel Ricciardo will get paid $17m for the 2019 year since moving over to Renault. That’s less than half of what Vettel gets but still close to a million dollars per race, not too shabby. Ricciardo outranks his 2018 team-mate, Verstappen, by a good $3,5m, which, rumour has it, was not the case when they were both at Red Bull Racing.

Below is the full list of F1 driver salaries 2019.

  1. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – $57m
  2. Sebastian Vettel – Ferrari – $45m
  3. Daniel Ricciardo – Renault – $17m
  4. Max Verstappen – Red Bull – $13m
  5. Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes – $8,5m
  6. Kimi Räikkönen – Sauber – $4,5m
  7. Nico Hulkenberg – Renault – $4,5m
  8. Carlos Sainz – McLaren – $4m
  9. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – $3,5m
  10. Sergio Perez – Racing Point – $3,5m
  11. Romain Grosjean – Haas – $1,8m
  12. Pierre Gasly – Red Bull – $1,4m
  13. Lance Stroll – Racing Point – $1,2m
  14. Kevin Magnussen – Haas – $1,2m
  15. Robert Kubica – Williams – $570 000
  16. Daniil Kvyat – Toro Rosso – $300 000
  17. Lando Norris – McLaren – $260 000
  18. Antonio Giovinazzi – Sauber – $230 000
  19. George Russell – Williams – $180 000
  20. Alexander Albon – Toro Rosso – $170 000