Otmar Szafnauer reveals how much he paid Esteban Ocon for his first year in F1

Otmar Szafnauer has offered insight into how much he paid Esteban Ocon during his first year on the grid.

The popularity and global reach of Formula One has skyrocketed in recent years and the current generation of drivers are among the highest-earning in the history of the sport.

Max Verstappen tops the list with a reported salary of $76million, and he is closely followed by Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris.

Further down the list, Carlos Sainz receives $13m per year, while Ocon earns around half that with $7m after signing a multi-year contract with Haas to partner Ollie Bearman in 2025.

A very handsome salary, indeed, and that is significantly more than what he earned over a decade ago.

Ocon made his Formula One debut in 2016, joining the Manor Racing team midway through the season. He then stepped in to replace Rio Haryanto on the Junior Mercedes Team at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix.

Aged just 19, the Frenchman competed in the final nine races of the season, and while he didn't score any points, he did finish every race he entered before

For that reason, he was one of the lowest-paid drivers on the grid when he joined Force India for two years in 2017, with former chief Otmar Szafnauer revealing how much he paid him almost a decade ago.

"I remember Esteban Ocon, we paid him nothing for the first year," Otmar said on the High Performance Racing podcast.

"He brought no money, and because he brought no money, he got nothing and he came into my office and said ‘I feel like you’re not paying me enough’. I had no money, we had no money. I said Esteban, you’re right," he added.

Co-host Jake Humphrey then asked what he actually paid him in 'F1 terms', and Otmar responded: "I don’t know if I should say, but I think that contract has come and gone. It was under a million."

According to Autoracing, the lowest-paid F1 drivers are Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls), Bearman (Haas) and Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), but they still earn $2m a year.

Esteban Ocon dismisses Haas exit rumours

Ocon is currently in the thick of a tough campaign with Haas, collecting just three points to Bearman's commanding 18, and he's also been out-qualified eight times to three.

Unsurprisingly, the 29-year-old's struggles this season have prompted talks over him a potential exit as pressure continues to mount on him.

But even though he is out of contract at the end of the season, Ocon is determined to shut out the outside noise and keep himself on track, dismissing any talk of him leaving.

"I feel confident about everything," he said after the Austrian Grand Prix.

"There will always be talks when people look at the picture, [but] when you look deep inside, and knowing why I don’t have many points this year, and all of these things, well it gets more clear.

"The real reasons we know deep inside, the team and the people close around, so that’s the most important. We know that we are doing the right work. Now, it just needs to pay off.”

Next up for Ocon and Haas is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.