Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Formula 1, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc
Ryan Smart
Topics: Formula 1, Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc
The reported salaries of all 22 F1 drivers have been ranked ahead of the 2026 season.
The current generation of F1 drivers are among the highest-earning in the history of the sport, given F1's significant in global reach and popularity over recent years.
Unsurprisingly, the likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris are handsomely paid for competing in the 24 Grands Prix that are staged per season, as well as for sponsorship, media and commercial obligations.
Each driver is also paid image rights, which can consist of merchandise sales, endorsements and event appearances.
Advert
While exact contractual figures are generally not made public in F1, there are various estimates of the salaries that each driver will take home.
High-profile contract signings often have a figure attached to them in reports, though naturally certain contract events will gain more media attention than others.
With all that in mind, we've taken a look at the reported salaries, including bonuses (via AutoRacing), that each driver is making in 2026:
(Via Autoracing)
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - $30 million
Charles Leclerc is under contract at Ferrari until the end of 2029, having signed a new long-term extension at the beginning of 2024.
If he sees out his deal, the Monegasque driver would bring up a 10-year stay with the Scuderia in Formula 1.
However, there have been reports that a number of teams, including Aston Martin, are interested in signing the 28-year-old.
Rumours will surely increase if Ferrari start the new 2026 season poorly, with Leclerc recently stating that it will be 'a crucial year' for him if he is to finally win a Drivers' Championship with the team.
4. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - $37.5 million
Oscar Piastri signed a contract extension with McLaren days before the start of the 2025 season, keeping him with the team until at least the end of 2028.
The Australian led the Drivers' Championship from April until October, but a poor run of form that saw him go six races without a podium ultimately cost him the title to team-mate Lando Norris.
Piastri will be back stronger next season but, amid question marks over McLaren's use of team orders during 2025, it remains to be seen whether he will be at the team for the long-term.
3. Lando Norris (McLaren) - $57 million
Lando Norris will drive car number one next season for McLaren after winning his first Drivers' Championship.
Norris is reportedly one of the three best-paid drivers in the sport, with his current deal reportedly keeping him at McLaren until the end of 2027 after he signed it in 2024.
There had been interest in the Brit from Red Bull before his latest contract, and it is hard to envisage the reigning champion leaving McLaren in the short or mid-term future.
2. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - $70 million
Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari was much-heralded, but thus far hasn't panned out how he or the team would have liked.
A significant factor behind that was Ferrari's pure lack of performance throughout the season, not helped by the early identification of a design flaw that caused the floor to run too close to the track and risk disqualification.
But Hamilton was comfortably outperformed by team-mate Leclerc in the qualifying and race head-to-heads, though did deliver Ferrari's only win at the China sprint race.
On a reported $70 million salary at the Scuderia, the seven-time world champion will be desperately hoping that he can deliver title number eight in 2026.
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - $76 million
Max Verstappen is reported to be the highest-paid driver in Formula 1 when bonuses are taken into account.
His $76 million contract has him as the highest-paid driver, though Sportico rank him in second place behind Hamilton when it comes to the highest-earning F1 drivers of 2025.
That is because Hamilton is said to earn significantly more in endorsements off the track - though that figure has increased for Verstappen in recent years as he becomes one of the biggest superstars in sport.
Although rumours persisted that he would leave Red Bull in 2025, Verstappen stayed with the team, and his current deal expires in 2028 - at which point he will have spent 12 years at the team he has won five world titles with.