With one race left to complete, I think we can safely say that the 2016 Formula One season will have no major surprises for us.
Mercedes and its star drivers are leading detached in this year’s standings – one final race won’t give Red Bull Racing over 200 points, or Daniel Ricciardo over 60.
The drivers’ title is undecided – Hamilton still has a shot to win the title this year – but Mercedes rules supreme in this year’s constructors’ race.
We’re not here to discuss standings and constructors today, though – we’re here to discuss money.
As in all sports, the top performers in Formula One are rewarded with a stellar salary.
Their yearly revenues exceed even the most generous jackpot at the Royal Vegas Casino – and it has quite the generous one to play for if you ask me.
Microgaming, the software developer behind the Royal Vegas, has paid out a nearly £8 million jackpot this August – and the world record jackpot worth over £13 million last October.
The salaries of the top F1 drivers are more than twice the biggest jackpot ever to be paid out by the Royal Vegas Casino – and that’s something, right?
So, without further ado, let’s see the list of the Top 5 Highest-Paid F1 Drivers of the 2016 season.
5. Nico Rosberg
Nico Rosberg is one of the two drivers who might grab the 2016 F1 champion title – but he is not the highest-paid driver of the year (although he might make tonnes of bonuses this year). Rosberg’s expiring contract ensured him a $15.5 million salary for 2016. His new contract will be more generous, though – Mercedes has offered him a salary of £36 million for the next two years, which means about £18 million a year.
4. Kimi Raikkonen
The Finnish driver was under a 1-year contract with Ferrari, which paid him $16 million this year, including bonuses. Raikkonen is currently the 6th best F1 driver of the world and has reportedly extended his contract with ‘il cavallino rampante’ – his salary for the next season is yet unknown.
3. Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton has signed a 3-year contract with Mercedes in 2015, for a yearly salary of $31 million, plus bonuses. Said bonuses might be quite consistent this year, as he might make it to the podium of the drivers’ championship – or, if he does great on the racetrack, he might even make it to the top.
2. Fernando Alonso
Alonso signed a two-year contract with Mclaren in 2015, with a yearly salary of $40 million, plus bonuses. Said bonuses might be thin this year – he hasn’t even been in a pole position in 2016, and the only thing he can be proud about is one ‘fastest lap’. In the drivers’ standings, he is in the 10th spot with one race left to complete this year.
1. Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari seems to be the team with the biggest salaries paid to their drivers. Vettel, currently the fourth best driver of 2016, has signed a three-year contract with the Italian team in 2015, which means that his salary reaches $50 million – plus bonuses – this year.
