How much do F1 drivers earn? A look at the proposed salary cap

Several novelties animate the world of Formula 1 this year and one of the most discussed is the introduction of the proposed salary cap. Will the drivers agree?

WHO ARE THE DRIVERS WITH THE HIGHEST SALARIES? LET’S FIND OUT WHAT THE 2021 GRID IS WORTH
The 2021 Formula 1 season has begun and at the top of the ranking we already find Lewis Hamilton, followed by Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas. Is their performance proportionate to the salaries? Not exactly. The drivers with the highest salaries are Hamilton, who will earn about $30 million, a figure that puts him at the top of the standings, as one would expect from the most successful driver on the grid. In second place there is Max Verstappen who will earn 25 million dollars a year until his contract expires in 2023. Incredible but true, Fernando Alonso takes third position with Alpine with his $22 million salary.

In 2018 Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel was the highest paid on the grid with a salary of around 49 million, this year he will have to face the crisis with only 15 million in Aston Martin. Daniel Ricciardo, who moved to McLaren, shares the same figure with Sebastian Vettel. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is sixth in the standings with 12 million a year until 2024. Maybe somewhat surprisingly, Valtteri Bottas earns less than the Monegasque, 10 million, but this also explains why Mercedes decided to keep the Finnish driver alongside Hamilton. This seems to be the most popular figure as the salary of the new Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz, together with Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) will be 10 million dollars.

Sergio Perez in Red Bull earns just over a quarter less than his colleague, about 8 million. Gasly (Alpha Tauri), Norris (McLaren) and Ocon (Alpine) share the same figure of 5 million, the latter two significantly less than their teammates. Among the less well-off (so to speak) we find: Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), Schumacher (Haas), Mazepin (Haas), Latifi (Williams) and Russell (Williams) who will earn about 1 million. Yuki Tsunoda will not only be the youngest but also the driver with the lowest salary paid by his team, Alpha Tauri, with 500,000 euros a year.

IS IT CORRECT TO SPEND SO MUCH ON SPORTS CHARACTERS?
This year the Formula 1 championship begins with discussion about several changes. And what can be the most discussed topic if not that of the salary cut? It is rumored that the proposal would be to set a maximum limit of 30 million for the official drivers and for the various reserves of each team (personal image rights excluded). But how would the world of Formula 1 react to such a decision? It all started one year ago when we began talking for the first time about “budget cap” and the freezing of chassis and engine in order to save costs.

We should always start with the most trivial question of all: is it right for a sportsman to earn so much? Certainly there is no doubt the sacrifice that is made by athletes from a young age to reach a top category, but this would not justify the huge salaries, which able to turn the heads of the GDP of the poorest nations.

That they are public figures is another factor to be taken into account, but do followers and notoriety in sport count so much? In the second decade of the twenty-first century, yes. The drivers who get on a single-seater are real stars, like the wealthiest influencers. And we cannot ignore the fact that in recent years motorsport has proved to be a much more social sport than others, and this may have contributed to increasing the zeros in the checks.

IS RISK A FACTOR TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT?
It is true that the job of a driver who blasts on the asphalt several times a week at about 300 km / h for two hours is extremely risky and potentially more lethal than kicking a ball for 90 minutes, and perhaps this is the basis of the sensational sums that the stars of this sport earn. In fact, a profitable share of the salary is also due to the huge and possible medical expenses and insurance in the event of an accident or, in the worst case, death. These costs are received by the driver in case of treatment due to accidents on track, so coverage beyond the actual earnings is guaranteed.

Already last year in the midst of the pandemic some drivers have sided in favor of the salary cut for the 2020 Formula 1 season due to the reduced season to 17 races, we will see how they react to a permanent cut. The premises are many, and the controversies even more. The season has just begun but there will certainly be discussions on such a delicate issue. We will see which drivers will be on the front line, for or against the salary cut. The question always remains whether it is correct or not to spend so much on sports characters as the world, especially in recent years, is going through one of its deepest economic crises.