F-1 driver salaries in 2023: Verstappen beats Hamilton by $20 million, Leclerc breaks into second, Alonso 4 times down

We count money.

Before each season, one of the most respected and oldest journalists in the Formula 1 paddock, Dieter Rencken, talks to insiders, driver managers and team managers about the amounts in their contracts. Here is his latest rating :

Bonuses were not taken into account here – although, on the other hand, Dieter quite rightly could have included bonuses for actions like “going to the start” in the fee, because the total amounts turned out to be higher. Also, sometimes pilots ask to include the transfer of racing cars into the contract – their real cost is difficult to estimate, especially depending on the configuration (with or without an engine, for example). Some insiders sometimes add 1-2 million to a fixed salary for cars – as well as for other physical benefits like a corporate supercar as a gift (Verstappen accumulated several million of these during the years of cooperation between Red Bull and Aston Martin)). And it’s not entirely clear where to attribute the fee for the super license – Red Bull also pays it for Max, you can’t write it in the contract in advance (because of the dependence on points), but this time a million dollars came up in total!

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And here it is interesting to compare the indicators with the previous data – as of June 1, the rating of the same journalist before a new wave of re-signings, transfers, extensions and clarifications looked like this:

Possible changes in figures – due to jumps in exchange rates. The rating is reduced in dollars, but the salaries in the contracts are indicated in pounds (for British teams), euros (for European ones) and even in Swiss francs (for Sauber / Alfa Romeo).

• What a great increase in Leclerc’s salary! Almost doubled – apparently, Ferrari is trying to keep him with all his might.

• Championship points in Verstappen’s contract seem to be endless – now +11m!

• Alonso’s salary decreased by 4 times after the transfer from Alpin to Aston Martin – apparently, it really was about time, not money: the desire for a deal outweighed for several years.

• And the salary of Stroll, who drives in his father’s team, was tweaked to a little less defiant – apparently, after the previous rating, he was teased for a fee even in the paddock.

• Alex Albon got a small raise. Well-deserved – he returned powerfully, intercepting Russell’s banner, without him, Williams would have been very sad.

• George himself, after defeating Hamilton, also received a slight increase (from 5 to 8 million).

• Piastri and de Vries have fairly generous fees for newcomers – apparently, they really expect a lot from them. For example, Nick will earn twice as much as Tsunoda, who spends his third year at Alpha Tauri – apparently, de Vries does not have a standard contract with the Red Bull program, but a deal with the team.

• Rumors of a big new Gasley contract have yet to be confirmed. So much the better for Alpin’s inner health.