IT’S the most expensive sport in the world, so it’s no surprise top Formula 1 drivers boast an eye-watering bank balance.
The likes of Lewis Hamilton, Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez certainly enjoy life in the fast lane – with supercar collections, huge mansions and luxury holidays.
This weekend sees the 2024 Formula 1 rev into gear, with 20 drivers set to battle it out for supremacy on the grid.
But the drama so far has come away from the track, when private texts sent by Red Bull boss Christian Horner to a female employee were leaked.
It has led to claims his marriage to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell is “in question” as she was left humiliated just a day after he was cleared of wrongdoing.
Ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, we reveal the drivers at the top of the rich list.
Lewis Hamilton – £270.9m
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lewis is currently F1’s highest-paid driver – his contract with Mercedes nets him £41.6million each year, and he’s estimated to be worth £270.9million.
That figure is set to soar far higher, too, after it was revealed he will join Ferrari in 2025 in a shock deal worth £100million.
The seven-time world champion has numerous endorsement deals with the likes of Puma, Sony, Police, and Tommy Hilfiger.
Hertfordshire-born Lewis, 39, is said to be raking in an additional £16.6million from these sponsorship deals.
Planet F1 reports he has an impressive private collection of supercars worth over £13million, including a Pagani Zonda, a Mercedes-AMG Project One, and a Ferrari LaFerrari, among others.
Lewis also owns a £49.1million penthouse in New York, according to GQ, and a £19.1million six-bedroom home in London.
Fernando Alonso – £216m
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, 42, has shown no signs of slowing down since his debut back in 2001.
Last season the Spanish star signed a new deal with Aston Martin believed to be worth around £17.8million.
He also has several sponsorship deals and owns the clothing brand Kimoa.
Savvy Alonso has also invested in private companies, said to reap him incredible rewards.
Unsurprisingly, Alonso likes his cars – he owns over 300 and some have even been put on display in the Fernando Alonso Sports Complex in Spain.
The racer owns homes in Oxford and Switzerland, as well as an apartment in a 52-storey building in Dubai.
Max Verstappen – £165m
Reigning champion Max Verstappen has been competing in Formula 1 since 2015 and his Red Bull contract is reportedly worth £41.6million a year.
This makes him the joint-highest paid racer on the grid alongside Hamilton.
Max also benefits from lucrative deals from the likes of G-Star RAW, Red Bull, and EA Sports.
As he’s only 26, industry experts predict his estimated £165million fortune will soar in the coming years.
Max is said to have bought a private jet from Sir Richard Branson worth £11million, which costs over £830,000 to maintain.
🏁 Complete F1 2024 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix and start time this year 🏁
Sergio Perez – £62.4m
Sergio, 34, may not be the highest-paid driver on the grid, but he’s been amassing an impressive fortune since his debut in 2011.
His estimated £62.4million net worth, which includes an £8.3million salary from Red Bull, makes him one of the richest athletes in the world.
The Mexican also has investments and an incredible list of endorsement deals, including Ticel, Telmox, and Claro.
Checo reportedly owns a multi-million dollar 15,000-square-foot mansion in Mexico and supercars including a Bugatti Chiron, which cost around £2million.
Daniel Ricciardo – £41.6m
He may be driving for the rebranded RB team this year, but Australian Daniel has eight Grand Prix wins and 32 podiums under his belt, and an estimated £41.6m fortune.
After being tied to Red Bull for five years, he signed a lucrative deal with Renault in 2020, which bagged him a mention on Forbes’ top 50 highest sports people that year.
The 34-year-old doesn’t shy away from showing off his incredible wealth – he reportedly owns three properties across three continents.
Daniel also owns supercars including a Porsche 918 Spyder and an Aston Martin Valkyrie, said to have cost a staggering £3million.
Lance Stroll – £41.6m
Lance, 25, would sit at the top of the list if his family’s wealth was taken into consideration – his dad Lawrence, who owns Aston Martin, has an estimated net worth of over £2.4billion.
The driver isn’t doing too badly for himself either, as he takes home a whopping £8.3million each year from the team.
When he’s not busy racing, Lance enjoys mountain biking, skiing, and surfing. He is dating Italian model Sara Pagliaroli.
Carlos Sainz – £37million
The Spanish ace is paid a reported £9.5m a year by Ferrari, who he joined in 2021 after successful stints with Renault and McLaren.
But the 29-year-old is set to leave after this season, to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton.
Endorsements include Playstation, lager brand Estrella and German helmet manufacturer Schuberth.
Away from the track he still feels the need for speed and his luxury car collection includes a McLaren 720S worth £800k and a £750K Ferrari 812.
Time is of the essence too – with a high end watch collection worth millions, including a Roger Dubuis timepiece worth USD £205,000 and a Franck Muller watch worth £200,000.
Charles Leclerc – £32m
Born and bred in Monaco, Leclerc lives a glam life away from the track.
Having risen up the ranks, his salary at Ferrari is reportedly £29million.
The 26-year-old has a £1.5million yacht called Monza, which he enjoys the playboy lifestyle on with pals.
Ferrari even reportedly provide him and team-mate Carlos Sainz with a private jet that costs £18,000-per-hour to privately charter.
WHO COULD REPLACE HAMILTON AT MERCEDES?
Mercedes will have a vacant seat for 2025.
Here, SunSport’s F1 correspondent Ben Hunt looks at FIVE potential candidates who could replace him and partner George Russell in the Silver Arrows.
Oscar Piastri – McLaren have sewn up Lando Norris to a new long-term contract that should (in theory) put him out of Mercedes’ reach. However, they are yet to tie down his teammate Piastri, 22. The Aussie has an excellent record and won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles before spending a year on the sidelines with Alpine and getting his chance in F1 with McLaren. He impressed on his debut season last year and has the potential to be a world champion.
Daniel Ricciardo – The experienced driver’s future remains in doubt as he bides his time at Red Bull’s B-team. Ricciardo would be low-hassle and offer some stability but by that time he would be 35. It seems unlikely that they would opt for him at this point in his career, but if he has a good season this year, he could come into the reckoning.
Kimi Antonelli – You may not have heard of the Italian, but he is mustard. Still only 17, he has won at all the junior categories and has been part of the Mercedes young driver programme since 2019. This season he has been promoted from F4 to F2, where he has been tipped to shine. A good debut season in F2 could sway Mercedes into taking a risk on him for 2025. Antonelli and his family are close to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Mick Schumacher – Wolff has always been so incredibly supportive of Schumacher and spoken highly of him, that you’d at least expect him to come into consideration. He knows the team from his role as reserve driver and consequently would get up to speed. But speed is also the problem. He was shocking at Haas and if he really was THAT good, he’d still be driving in F1.
Alex Albon – A more-sensible choice would be the London-born Albon. A great guy who is also very quick. He has a fantastic relationship with Russell and would be the low-maintenance quick partnership similar to Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas that swept to successive titles. Albon would take little convincing to join from Williams and Mercedes would not need to pay him half of the £50million they were dishing out to Hamilton.
Pierre Gasly – £27.4m
Pierre, 28, who made his debut in 2017, drives for Alpine and comes from a family heavily involved in motorsports.
His salary is reported to be £1.6million, which excludes performance bonuses and sponsorship deals that bring his estimated net worth up to £27.4million.
Pierre’s brand partnerships include headphone brand Blomm and Berger, The Grid, Destination Grand Prix, and Crypto Gaming.
He is said to be dating Italian Caterina Masetti Zannini, who shares many of her lavish trips with Pierre on Instagram.
Valtteri Bottas – £25m
Although he spent much of his career as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas, 34, was only making a quarter of the English driver’s salary.
He now races for Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, making up to £8.6million a year, and is one of the competition’s most popular stars.
He has a partnership with Finnish sporting company Polar, and is sponsored by locking solutions company Abloy and a private jet company called Insijets.
Valtteri is currently dating Australian road cyclist Tiffany Cromwell, and has an estimated net worth of £25million.
Lando Norris – £24m
Lando Norris was born in into wealth through dad Adam – who amassed a £205million fortune – and mum Cisca from Belgium.
But astonishingly, for someone so well off, the 24-year-old doesn’t actually own a car.
As is one of the perks of the job, McLaren has loaned him several over the years.
Speaking to Scott Mills and Chris Stark on their BBC Sounds podcast, however, he confessed he is not materialistic.
Lando said: “I don’t own many things. I’ve not really treated myself.”
Kevin Magnussen – £20.8m
K-Mag made his return to Formula 1 after Russian driver Nikita Mazepin’s contract was terminated by Haas just a few days before the 2022 season.
Although he impressed with his debut in 2014, his form dipped in subsequent years.
The 31-year-old will be keen to prove why he’s been able to amass a reported net worth of £20.8million.
His £5million salary at Haas is topped up by endorsement deals believed to be worth over £800,000.
Esteban Ocon – £14.9m
Despite being only 27, Esteban Ocon has impressed fans since his debut in 2016.
He has raced for Force India, Racing Point, Alpine, and was a test driver for Mercedes back in 2019.
Although he earns a £4.1million salary at Alpine, his long tenure in Formula One and endorsement deals with the likes of Microsoft, Bell and Castrol have given him a hefty estimated net worth of £14.9millon.
The Frenchman reportedly owns a Mercedes AMG GTR, a Mercedes AMG C63 Edition 1, and an Alpine A110S.
George Russell – £13.1m
George Russell, 26, will soon be rising up the charts if he becomes Mercedes’ main main when Hamilton leaves next year.
He joined the F1 team in 2021, replacing Bottas and enjoying a £5million payday in the process.
Off the racing circuit, the driving star gets around in a £140,000 car — unsurprisingly, a Mercedes AMG GT.
He also enjoys lavish trips away with girlfriend Carmen to holiday spots St Barts and Santorini.
Nico Hulkenberg – £8million
German Nico has been racing for 14 years
Known as the Hulk, the German racer has driven for Williams, Force India, Sauber, Renault, Racing Point, Aston Martin and current team Haas during a career spanning back to 2010.
The 36-year-old has an annual salary of £3.2million but it hasn’t been plain sailing.
In December 2020, he broke the record for the most Formula One career starts without a podium finish, when he reached 129.
Married to Lithuanian fashion designer Eglė Ruškytė, with whom he shares a three-year-old daughter, Nico also won the Le Mans in 2015, away from his usual discipline.#
Off-track he likes his cars superfast and spent £82,000 upgrading Porsche GT2 RS MR – which already cost £85,000 – so it could go from 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds.
“When you drive and the car is really at its limits, then you smile and then you know why you purchased it”, he explained.
Zhou Guanyu – £5million
Another graduate of the Renault academy, the 24-year-old was the first Grand Prix starter from China when he make his F1 debut for Alfa Romeo, now Kick Sauber, in 2022.
Said to come from a hugely wealthy family, he moved to the UK at 12 to pursue his love of racing and is now on a reported salary of £1.6million.
He also endorses Hublot, Beats by Dre and simulated racing firm Fanatec, and has a limited edition watch from Rebellion named after him–the RE-Volt Zhou Guanyu C42.
Fittingly, off track he drives an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, worth £78,000.
Alex Albon – £4million
The London-born Williams star, who races under a Thai license, earns a reported salary of £2.3million.
He tops up the bank balance with a lucrative contract as a watch brand ambassador for Casio Edifice.
Off-track he has an impressive car collection which includes two Aston Martin’s with the most expensive a DB11 worth £195,000.
Alex, 27, has been dating Chinese professional golfer Lily Muni He since 2019.
Yuki Tsunoda – £4million
Tsunoda’s made a speedy ascent to the top tier of motorsport after racing in Japanese F4 until 2019, then joining AlphaTauri, now RB, in 2021.
His reported salary is around £800,000, but the 23-year-old also enjoys big money endorsement deals with various companies in his home country of Japan, including men’s toiletry brand Protex and Arai helmets.
He also has 1.9million Instagram followers – making his page a prime target for brands.
Oscar Piastri – £4million
The 22-year-old is one of the babies of track, having come through the Renault Sports Academy and started his F1 career in 2021.
He was the subject of a bitter wrangle over contracts with Alpine, after he refuted an announcement he’d signed with them in 2022, and he moved to McLaren a year later, on a a salary of £1.6million.
Tipped as a future world champ, the Australian driver is a magnet for brands and already endorses Quad Lock, an active lifestyle company based in his home country and tech company dubber.
Fans can also buy a range of Piastri merchandise featuring his face, including mugs, T-shirts and a miniature racing helmet.
Logan Sargeant – £1.2million
Sargeant made his F1 debut in Bahrain in 2023, driving for Williams.
He was the first American on the grid since Alexander Rossi drove for Manor Marussia in 2015.
As a newbie the 23-year-old is yet to grace a podium and is reported to earn a salary of £329,000.
But with 793k Insta followers and a promising track career, brands will be falling over themselves to off him endorsement deals.
