How Alonso, Hamilton and Verstappen's pay has changed year by year

Behind the phrase "F1 drivers earn millions" there is a trajectory. No driver starts by earning fifty million a year: debutants' salaries are modest, rise with results and soar when a driver is a champion or when a team signs him at a king's ransom. Here we reconstruct, with the available estimates, how the pay of three of the most relevant drivers of the last two decades has evolved: Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

It is an exercise with evident limitations. Contracts are confidential; the figures of F1Salaries, Spotrac, SalaryLeaks and the press do not agree and older years are the least reliable. That is why the chart marks the value (or the midpoint) with a dot and the range between sources with a light bar, and leaves years without data blank.

The dot is the value, or the midpoint when sources give a range; the light bar shows that range. Years without a dot have no reliable data. Differences between sources come from whether only base pay or also title and results bonuses are counted.

Alonso: from the rise at Renault to the peak at Ferrari

Alonso's figures at Renault are the most consistent between sources: about $4.5 million in 2003, 6.5 in 2004, 9 in 2005 and 12 in 2006, the years of his two titles. His spell at McLaren in 2007 is estimated at between 20 and 25 million, and his return to Renault in 2008 between 28 and 35 (one source goes up to 45), before dropping to about 15 in 2009.

At Ferrari, from 2010 to 2014, the media speak of a range of $26.6 to 41.7 million a year. One source puts the 2010 contract at four years and $146.7 million, an average of 36.7 a year, and 2011 as his best year, at 41.7. In his second McLaren spell (2015-2018) he moves between 30 and 40 million.

From Alpine to Aston Martin: the stretch with most doubts

At Alpine (2021-2022) sources give about $25 million in 2021 and between 20 and 30 in 2022; in total, nearly £30 million over his two years, according to Total Motorsport. At Aston Martin (2023-2026) there is more divergence: F1Salaries keeps him at 24 million a year, Spotrac at 18 in 2024 and 20 in 2026 and Celebrity Net Worth at about 25. GPFans mentions an unconfirmed report of a new contract of over 40 million a year, which we have not included in the chart.

Hamilton: from a few million at McLaren to sixty at Ferrari

Hamilton debuted with McLaren in 2007 on an estimated salary of between $0.5 and 4 million, and in 2008 between 5 and 20 (the BBC spoke of about 20 million a year for 2008-2012). In 2013 he moved to Mercedes for about 26.6-27.5 million, and the range opens up a lot afterwards: between 35 and 57 in 2019 and between 55 and 62 in 2021. In 2024 sources put him between 45 and 55.

In 2025, in his first year with Ferrari, most sources credit him with about $60 million base (plus 0.5 in bonuses), with lower estimates of 50 and higher ones of 70. There are years without reliable data (2009-2012, 2014-2018, 2020 and 2022), and the chart leaves them empty.

Verstappen: the fastest rise

Verstappen is the case of most abrupt growth. Spotrac credits him with about $277,500 in 2015 with Toro Rosso and about 650,000 in 2016; 3 million in 2017, 10 in 2018 and 13.5 in 2019. Between 2020 and 2022 the sources diverge widely (between 25 and 42.5 million, depending on whether champion bonuses are counted), and in 2023 the estimate rises to 67-70 million. For 2026 the base is around 70 million, although some sources speak of a contract through 2030 with about 105 million from 2027, an unconfirmed figure.