Verstappen tops 2025 rich list as Hamilton’s Ferrari payday narrows the gap — Norris cashes in on bonuses
F1’s salary season has landed, and the numbers are as punchy as some of the on-track radio. Forbes’ annual estimates put Max Verstappen back on top of the money tree for 2025, with Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton not far behind and newly crowned World Champion Lando Norris proving there’s gold at the end of a bonus clause.
Verstappen’s headline figure: $76 million. The bulk is a $65m base salary, with $11m in bonuses layered on top — the fruits of a mega-deal signed in 2022 that locks him to Red Bull through 2028. It’s the most Verstappen thing ever: maximum points, maximum pay, and a Monaco postcode that means the Principality won’t take a slice of it.
Hamilton sits second at $70.5m — intriguingly, with a bigger base than Verstappen at $70m, but only $0.5m in bonuses. Ferrari didn’t exactly get a discount year, either. Slice the income against the points he scored and you’re looking at roughly $451,923 per point. Red Bull’s outlay for Verstappen? About $180,522 per point. Cold math, hot topic.
Then there’s Norris, who turned a relatively modest base into a title-winning windfall. His $18m salary ballooned thanks to $39.5m in performance bonuses, taking him to $57.5m for the year. McLaren’s incentive structures clearly bite — and they paid out in 2025. If you hear a soft knock around the MTC, it’s probably Norris reminding Zak Brown about market rates.
Oscar Piastri followed the same orange blueprint: $10m in base, $27.5m in bonuses, for a handy $37.5m total. It underlines McLaren’s approach in the ground-effect era — reward results heavily and let the scoreboard decide the pay packet.
Charles Leclerc’s $30m, by contrast, is all salary, no extras. Fernando Alonso clocks in at $26.5m ($24m base plus $2.5m in bonuses), with George Russell on $26m, buoyed by $11m in performance pay after agreeing a new deal mid-season.
Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin contract places him eighth with $13.5m ($12m base, $1.5m in bonuses), while Carlos Sainz shows up ninth on $13m ($10m base plus $3m). Rounding out the top 10: Mercedes’ teenage rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, whose $12.5m is split $5m base and $7.5m in incentives — a notable number for a first-year driver, and a clear bet on potential.
A note of caution: these are Forbes estimates. Driver contracts are locked down tighter than a parc fermé gearbox; only the teams and drivers know the exact figures. But the patterns matter. Heavy bonus structures are in vogue, aligning paydays with podiums and keeping the fixed costs leaner — especially handy in seasons where development races and form swings can escalate quickly.
Top 10 estimated F1 driver earnings in 2025 (Forbes)
– Max Verstappen — $76m ($65m salary + $11m bonuses)
– Lewis Hamilton — $70.5m ($70m + $0.5m bonuses)
– Lando Norris — $57.5m ($18m salary + $39.5m bonuses)
– Oscar Piastri — $37.5m ($10m salary + $27.5m bonuses)
– Charles Leclerc — $30m ($30m salary + $0m bonuses)
– Fernando Alonso — $26.5m ($24m salary + $2.5m bonuses)
– George Russell — $26m ($15m salary + $11m bonuses)
– Lance Stroll — $13.5m ($12m salary + $1.5m bonuses)
– Carlos Sainz — $13m ($10m salary + $3m bonuses)
– Andrea Kimi Antonelli — $12.5m ($5m salary + $7.5m bonuses)
Three takeaways from the list? Verstappen remains the benchmark both on track and at the bank; Ferrari paid top dollar to get Hamilton in red and got a season that didn’t strike the bonus jackpot; and McLaren’s pair made hay by hitting targets, with Norris’s title turning his contract into a jackpot.
As ever, driver market dynamics tend to move these numbers more than lap time alone. But if 2025 told us anything, it’s this: the right clauses in the right car can be as valuable as any upgrade.
