Sebastian Vettel has secured more prize money than Lewis Hamilton over the course of their careers in Formula 1, research from Forbes has shown. Vettel has earned $511.9million for Toro Rosso, Red Bull and Ferrari over his career, while Hamilton comes up short by more than $60m.
The level of prize money paid to teams by F1 each year is calculated on two main factors: Performance in the constructors’ championship, as well as legacy payments, tiered based on teams’ time spent in the sport. Writing for Forbes, Formula Money has calculated Vettel’s contributions to his teams’ championship performances over time.
Two factors are particularly crucial in Vettel coming out on top of Hamilton in a study that looks at drivers on the 2019 grid.
Sebastian Vettel has only once been beaten by a team-mate across a season – by Daniel Ricciardo in a season of struggle at Red Bull – boosting his individual contributions to the team collective.
Although he has won one more world title than Vettel, Hamilton has finished below a team-mate in the standings on two occasions – in 2011, when his McLaren stable-mate Jenson Button was second to Vettel, and in 2016 when Nico Rosberg beat him to championship glory in a battle between the Mercedes drivers.
Hamilton’s deficit to Vettel is also influenced by McLaren’s disqualification from the 2007 constructors’ championship over the ‘Spygate’ scandal.
Top 10 prize money earners on 2019 grid
Sebastian Vettel – $511.9m
Lewis Hamilton – $449.6m
Kimi Raikkonen – $386.3m
Nico Hulkenberg – $250.9m
Sergio Perez – $232.1m
Daniel Ricciardo – $231.1m
Valtteri Bottas – $218.3m
Romain Grosjean – $200.9m
Robert Kubica – $154.7m
Max Verstappen – $132.5m
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