Who is the lowest-paid F1 driver in 2024?

F1 driver salaries drop significantly at the bottom half of the pecking order.

Who is the lowest-paid F1 driver in 2024?

Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz (Via IMAGO)

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. Teams spend hundreds of millions of dollars every season to compete in the sport including driver salaries. Subsequently, the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton earn big bucks every season. However, on the other side of the spectrum, a few drivers might have rather less income from their contracts.

Usually, the lower end of the grid receives substantially less income than the front of the pack. Moreover, rookie drivers earn far less than their more experienced peers. It is thus no surprise that for 2024, Williams’ Logan Sargeant shares the lowest-paid driver tag with Yuki Tsunoda from AlphaTauri. The two drivers will reportedly earn $1 million in 2024.

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Sargeant made his debut in F1 last season at the Grove-based team. The American driver managed to get a contract extension right before the end of the season. As such, Logan Sargeant would need to stay content with a comparatively low salary.

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Yuki Tsunoda made his F1 debut in 2021 in AlphaTauri. The Japanese driver enters his fourth season in the sport this year. However, Tsunoda remains a Honda prodigy racing for the Red Bull sister team. Subsequently, the 23-year-old is still on a modest contract.

8-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo set to earn less than Oscar Piastri in 2024

Daniel Ricciardo parted ways with McLaren at the end of 2022. The 8-time race winner was replaced by fellow Australian Oscar Piastri. Ricciardo eventually made his return to the grid with AlphaTauri mid-way through 2023.

Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo
Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo (Image credit: The Race)

However, it is understood that the 34-year-old took a significant pay cut with an expected salary of just $2.1 million in 2024. On the other hand, Oscar Piastri is likely to earn around the range of $8 million this year. A large sum for a driver who will compete in their second F1 season.

Lower down the pecking order, Stake F1 team’s Zhou Guanyu will earn $2 million in 2024, which puts him right alongside Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll for the upcoming season.

Certainly, not all F1 drivers earn eight-figure salaries. However, even the lowest driver salary in 2024 is a significant sum. With drivers gaining more experience in the upcoming season, Logan Sargeant and Yuki Tsunoda would likely get a raise if they earned a contract extension.

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