For 2025, RacingNews365 estimated base salaries of $65 million for Max Verstappen, $60 million for Lewis Hamilton, $20 million for Lando Norris and $6 million for Oscar Piastri. A later Forbes estimate, which includes performance bonuses, put their on-track compensation at $76 million, $70.5 million, $57.5 million and $37.5 million, respectively. Neither set of figures is a confirmed public contract disclosure.
2025 F1 salary estimates at a glance
The figures below are in U.S. dollars. RacingNews365’s February estimates cover annual base salary; Forbes’ post-season estimates cover salary plus estimated bonuses. Because the sources measure different things at different points in the season, the columns should not be read as like-for-like contract figures.
| Driver | Team listed by RacingNews365 | RacingNews365 base salary estimate, published Feb. 1, 2025 | Forbes salary estimate, post-season | Forbes estimated bonuses | Forbes estimated salary plus bonuses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | $65 million | $65 million | $11 million | $76 million |
| Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | $60 million | $70 million | $0.5 million | $70.5 million |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | $20 million | $18 million | $39.5 million | $57.5 million |
| Oscar Piastri | McLaren | $6 million | $10 million | $27.5 million | $37.5 million |
RacingNews365 described its figures as annual base income and excluded team bonuses and personal sponsorships. Its estimates were based on conversations with sources in the F1 paddock. RacingNews365’s 2025 salary estimates were published on February 1, before the season was complete.
What Forbes’ post-season totals include
Forbes published its 2025 highest-paid-drivers ranking on December 9, 2025, and updated it on January 8, 2026. It estimates on-track compensation as salary plus bonuses, rounding amounts to the nearest half-million. Its totals put Verstappen first among these four at $76 million, followed by Hamilton at $70.5 million, Norris at $57.5 million and Piastri at $37.5 million.
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The bonus estimates explain much of the difference between the two rankings: Forbes estimated $39.5 million in bonuses for Norris and $27.5 million for Piastri, compared with $11 million for Verstappen and $0.5 million for Hamilton. The available figures do not disclose contractual bonus formulas, so they do not establish which results or terms generated those amounts. Forbes’ post-season ranking describes these as estimates, not official salary disclosures.
Why the published numbers differ
The February RacingNews365 table estimates base salary only. Forbes’ later list estimates both salary and performance bonuses after the season, and its salary estimates also differ from RacingNews365’s for Hamilton, Norris and Piastri. The publications are therefore not reporting competing verified versions of the same contract figure.
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Forbes says it developed its estimates with Caroline Reid, a Forbes.com contributor and member of data firm Formula Money, drawing on financial documents, legal filings, press reports and conversations with industry insiders. It notes that few Formula 1 driver salaries are public. Neither publication supplies public contracts confirming the four drivers’ exact pay.
Salary is not total income or take-home pay
Forbes’ ranking is limited to on-track compensation: it excludes endorsement and other off-track income, and it does not deduct taxes or agents’ fees. Its totals therefore are neither a measure of each driver’s complete personal income nor what the driver takes home after deductions. RacingNews365’s base-salary table also excludes personal sponsorships and team bonuses.
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Wider context from Forbes’ 2025 ranking
Forbes estimated that its top 10 F1 drivers earned a combined $363 million in 2025, up 15% from its $317 million estimate for 2024. That total refers to the full top 10, not just Verstappen, Hamilton, Norris and Piastri.
Quick Recap
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