Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel, Alonso, Russell: F1 driver salaries for 2022 revealed

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By Sean Guest

Published Jan 19, 2022

Let's see who's earning what

With all the drama of the 2021 Formula One season now firmly in the rearview mirror, the sport is preparing to embrace a new era in 2022.

The upcoming campaign will see the FIA introduce significant rule changes that affect the way that cars behave, resulting in closer, and most likely more exciting, racing than in 2021.

As they do most seasons, the drivers’ salaries are set to change, too. However, with only a handful of driver moves this winter, this year’s changes are relatively minor compared to those of previous seasons.

RacingNews365 revealed who’s going to be earning what in 2022 earlier this week and as you might expect, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and last year’s champion Max Verstappen lead the way.

While the Dutch driver pipped his British counterpart to the post in one of the most controversial endings to a season in memory in 2021, Hamilton will be paid $15 million more than his rival in 2022, earning a salary of $40 million compared to Verstappen’s $25 million, assuming he decides to continue racing that is.

Elsewhere, one of the most notable moves of the winter saw Valtteri Bottas leave the Silver Arrows to join Alfa Romeo, taking his $10 million salary with him. Mercedes have replaced him with former Williams driver George Russell, who is set to make $5 million in 2022.

Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo also feature among the top five earners - with salaries of $20 million, $15 million and $15 million respectively - while Zhou Guanyu of Alfa Romeo is set to make $1 million as the only rookie on the grid, as well as the first full-time Chinese driver in Formula One history after making the leap from Formula 2.