F1 2010 driver salaries revealed - who earns most?

An up-to-date list of F1 driver salaries has been published, revealing just who is being paid what this season - and what kind of performance return they are giving for their remuneration...

20 Aug 2010

The annual list of F1 salaries has again been published, with two world champions topping the list and a driver who is not even competing on the grand prix grid this year - coming in at third place.

The report - published by Spanish newspaper El Mundo and citing information compiled by Business Book GP - revealed that Ferrari star Fernando Alonso is on a retainer of some EUR30 million, supplemented by his external endorsements.

That is almost twice the salary that the Oviedo native's former team-mate and sworn rival currently Lewis Hamilton earns at McLaren-Mercedes, whose EUR16 million pay packet is virtually the same as what World Rally Championship convert Kimi Raikkonen is receiving as the Finn continues to benefit handsomely indeed from his early Ferrari pay-off.

Next up is Felipe Massa on EUR14 million - notably, less than half of what team-mate Alonso is on - with defending F1 World Champion Jenson Button fifth on EUR9 million, just ahead of Mercedes Grand Prix's Michael Schumacher, whose EUR8 million remuneration is arguably generous indeed for the comparatively poor on-track return that the German legend has provided on his desperately disappointing comeback to active competition thus far this year.

In a laudable policy of equality, however, Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg is on exactly the same retainer with Renault F1's Robert Kubica - in many observers' eyes, the star of the season to-date - on EUR7.5 million.

A significant surprise if the findings are accurate, is that both Williams' ultra-experienced veteran Rubens Barrichello is on more money at EUR5.5 million than either current world championship leader Mark Webber or Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull Racing, with the Australian perhaps similarly unexpectedly receiving more than the German with EUR4.2 million to EUR2 million - though both are understood to be on substantial bonus agreements for every victory notched up.

Lotus Racing's Jarno Trulli also outpoints Vettel in the basic salary stakes on EUR3 million, with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen on a basic retainer of around EUR2 million, Timo Glock for fellow F1 2010 newcomer Virgin Racing on EUR1 million and Williams rookie Nico H?lkenberg on EUR700,000.

Bringing up the rear of the list are Sauber duo Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi on EUR500,000 apiece, Renault's Vitaly Petrov and Scuderia Toro Rosso pairing Jaime Alguersuari and S?bastien Buemi on EUR400,000 each and Force India's Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi and Virgin new boy Lucas di Grassi all on EUR200,000. The final 'paid' driver, Hispania Racing's Bruno Senna, is on just EUR150,000 - or, to put it into perspective, roughly 200 times less than Alonso.

The figures make Ferrari comfortably the highest spender of the year in terms of driver expense, with (EUR60 million) or without (EUR44 million) Raikkonen taken into consideration, as the full list below shows. The ranking on the far right is current championship position.

Drivers:

1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari EUR30m 5th
2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes EUR16m 2nd
3. Kimi Raikkonen FerrariEUR16m N/A
4. Felipe MassaFerrari EUR14m 6th
5. Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes EUR9m 4th
6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand PrixEUR8m 9th
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix EUR8m 7th
8. Robert Kubica Renault F1 EUR7.5m 8th
9. Rubens Barrichello Williams F1 EUR5.5m 11th
10. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing EUR4.2m 1st
11. Jarno TrulliLotus Racing EUR3m 19th=
12. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing EUR2m 3rd
13. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus Racing EUR2m 19th=
14. Timo Glock Virgin Racing EUR1m 19th=
15. Nico H?lkenberg Williams F1 EUR700,000 15th
16. Pedro de la Rosa Sauber EUR500,000 17th
17. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber EUR500,000 12th=
18. Vitaly Petrov Renault F1 EUR400,000 12th=
19. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso EUR400,000 18th
20. S?bastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso EUR400,000 16th
21. Adrian Sutil Force India F1 EUR200,000 10th
22. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India F1 EUR200,000 14th
23. Lucas Di Grassi Virgin Racing EUR200,000 19th=
24. Bruno Senna Hispania Racing EUR150,000 19th=
25. Karun Chandhok Hispania Racing EURNil 19th=
26. Sakon Yamamoto Hispania Racing EURNil 19th =

Teams:

1. Ferrari EUR60m 3rd
2. McLaren-Mercedes EUR25m 2nd
3. Mercedes Grand Prix EUR16m 4th
4. Renault F1 EUR7.9m 5th
5. Red Bull Racing EUR6.2m 1st
6. Williams F1 EUR6.2m 7th
7. Lotus Racing EUR5m 10th=
8. Virgin RacingEUR1.2m 10th=
9. SauberEUR1m 8th
10. Scuderia Toro Rosso EUR800,000 9th
11. Force India F1 EUR400,000 6th
12. Hispania Racing EUR150,000 10th=