Who are the Top 10 richest Formula 1 drivers of all time?
Formula 1 drivers have always been among the highest-paid athletes in the world.
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Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso (Via IMAGO)
Formula 1 is one of the most lucrative and expensive sport in the world, and the athletes often features among the ten most paid athletes in the world very year. Throughout the years the drivers who have been put in the performances have more than justly paid for their efforts, as these racers aslo are some of the biggest brands in the sports market.
While there is a lot of glamor in the sport, driver salaries and endorsements also act as a motivation booster for aspiring racers aiming to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport. The ladder to reach Formula 1 is definitely a tricky one, but once a racer reaches it, he just needs to focus on performance, and everything will take care of by your respective team.
With their talent on and off the track some of the top drivers in F1 has been able to earn millions, placing them among the richest athletes ever. What more encouraging for the upcoming racer is the fact that the very best oof the sport history also is the richest as they were the biggest earners.
Here is the list of the Top 10 richest Formula 1 driver in history
10. Martin Brundle – $100 Million
Martin Brundle as one of the most celebrated commentators in the sport right now. The F1 fans have seen him interviewing everyone in the paddock, and recently, he often grabs the headlines with his hilarious grid walk. But what is overshadowed by that is his talent as a Formula 1 driver.
Although his career as a driver was hindered by a lot of injuries, the nine-time podium finisher has been able to earn a lot of money after he gave up racing, and that has continued to be the case with his net worth of 110 million dollars, a clear indication of that.
9. Eddie Irvine – $120 Million
When F1 fans discuss about one of the best ever to have driven a Formula 1 car, Eddie Irvine will definitely be part of the conversation after what he has done in and for the sport. He started off his journey at the tender age of 17, competing in the Formula Ford championship.
Although he didn’t win a championship, he came very close to winning the coveted championship in the year 1999 as he finished behind Mika Hakkinen. But he went on to win four races in F1 as well as a class win in the 24 Hour of LeMans. Despite him not being a world champion, he still features 9th on the list with a net worth of US $120 million.
8. Mario Andretti- $130 Million
Mario Andretti and his son, Michael Andretti, have been in the news as this father-son duo has been trying to find a way into Formula 1 with their team, Andretti Global. The speculations of their entry had the front three of Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull running scared. This shows the deep pockets that they have.
Mario Andretti was also one of the more successful Italian American drivers who won the championship in 1978 and also recorded a total of 12 wins and 19 podiums. His net worth currently stands at a whopping US $130m.
7. Sebastian Vettel – $140 Million
Sebastian Vettel is the most successful German F1 driver after Michael Schumacher. He won 4 world championships with Red Bull Racing and came close to winning many more in his time at Ferrari. He has a Net Worth of US $140m.
Most of it has come from brand deals and a large chunk of money coming from Ferrari as he raced with them for a few years before going to Aston Martin. His 53 wins in the premier open wheel racing series, makes him timeless legend of the sport.
6. Jenson Button – $150 Million
Jenson Button will always be remembered as the driver who fought with all his might against a feisty and young Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. The British driver was part of the Brawn GP in 2009 and went on to win his one and only champion with the constructor before he left for McLaren, where he would finish his career.
The British driver couldn’t bring back the glory days for the British manufacturers, but they definitely impacted the sport. He still works as a pundit and makes the big bucks with his net worth around the US $150m mark. He has also taken an advisory role at Williams.
5. Niki Lauda – $200 Million
Niki Lauda is one of the greatest racing drivers to have competed in the pinnacle of motorsport. Apart from winning world championships, The Austrian racer was also a businessman. After a short retirement in 1982, the Champ came back to F1 with McLaren, who paid him the equivalent of about $12 million per year by today’s standards.
Niki Lauda was also a licensed pilot who owned an airline company called Lauda Air. The 3-time world champion also joined Mercedes back when they were struggling and steered them onto a path towards success. He sadly passed away during the 2019 Monaco GP weekend, leaving behind a legacy of his racing tactics. He was worth US $200m during that time.
4. Kimi Raikkonen – $250 Million
Kimi Raikkonen is one of the fieriest characters to have ever stepped into a Formula 1 car. But he also earned the nickname of Iceman. The Finnish driver’s best stint in Formula 1 came with Ferrari, where he went on to become the world champion in 2007.
Many greats like Sebastian Vettel and Eddie Irvine have tried but couldn’t do it. Kimi Raikkonen in 2022 took retirement from the pinnacle of motorsport driving in his 349th race for Alfa Romeo. The Finn’s current net worth stands at a staggering US $250m, which has earned him the 4th spot on the list.
3. Fernando Alonso – $260 Million
Fernando Alonso came in at a time in Formula 1 when the Michael Schumacher show was going on. Still, the undeterred Spaniard broke that chain of consecutive world championships as he went on to become the youngest world champion with Renault, the record that Sebastian Vettel now holds.
Alonso has amassed a good amount of wealth over the years due to his large payouts from F1 teams and sponsors who endorsed him. The Spaniard had put Michael Schumacher in uncomfortable positions on more than one occasion and eventually got the better of him. He hasn’t looked back from that and has been justly rewarded for his heroics as his net worth stands at US $260m. Fernando Alonso is a 2-time F1 world champion.
2. Lewis Hamilton – $285 Million
When fans talk about the GOAT, the seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, will be spoken about in the same breath as Michael Schumacher. The British driver debuted in Formula 1 in the year 2007 and didn’t waste any time in making a statement to the rest of the pack that he was not in this to just make up the numbers. Over the years, Hamilton has made quite a name for himself, having won more than 100 races.
He substantiated his claims by winning his first championship and didn’t look back from that, as he has won seven championships so far in his racing career. Lewis Hamilton has won every penny of that staggering US $285m net worth. He was the highest-paid F1 driver in his prime. With the new generation of racers coming into the scene, Hamilton isn’t the highest-paid F1 pilot anymore.
1. Michael Schumacher – $600 Million
F1 royalty, Michael Schumacher, not to anyone’s surprise, tops the list of the richest Formula 1 driver of all time. The German is arguably the greatest of all time to have ever driven a Formula 1 car. Michael Schumacher came into the sport as a rookie and left as a legend with seven world titles and holds that incredible record of five consecutive titles from the years 2000-2004.
Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton came close to breaking that, but it proved to be way too difficult. He deserves to be the wealthiest driver of all time with a net worth of £604.9m. His reign as the greatest driver ever with Ferrari earned him a load if material wealth.
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Varad Joshi
(940 Articles Published)