Red Bull’s Max Verstappen may have fallen just short in the Drivers’ Championship this year, but for the fourth season running, he tops the list of highest-paid drivers on the Formula 1 grid.

Six of the 10 teams are represented in the top 10 earners for 2025, based on salary and bonuses. The values are as reported by Forbes, although sponsorships have not been taken into account.

Here is a breakdown of all the drivers and their respective seasons, beginning with the sole rookie on the list.

10

Kimi Antonelli

Salary: $5 million | Bonuses: $7.5 million | Total: $12.5 million

The only rookie driver to make the list, Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, gave Kimi Antonelli the daunting challenge of stepping into the seat vacated by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Italian went on to have a steady season, which included a maiden podium, finishing P3 in Canada, before a consistent run of top-10 finishes, and a P2 finish in Brazil that saw the 19-year-old become the highest-ever point-scoring rookie (under the current points system), finishing a respectable seventh in the Drivers’ Championship, and securing his seat for next season.

9

Carlos Sainz Jr

Salary: $10 million | Bonuses: $3 million | Total: $13 million

After being forced out of Ferrari, despite being a strong performer over his four-year spell, Carlos Sainz Jr came to Williams with a point to prove.

His season got off to a frustrating start as he crashed out of the season opener in Australia, and suffered a further run of bad luck where he bore the brunt of collisions and technical issues. However, the Spaniard came into his own in the second half of the season, finding the pace in the Williams that his teammate Alex Albon was able to extract early in the season.

He earned his team’s only podiums with P3 finishes in Azebaijan and Qatar, helping him to a ninth-place finish in the final standings.

8

Lance Stroll

Salary: $12 million | Bonuses: $1.5 million | Total: $13.5 million

Stroll‘s season has been underwhelming, with the 27-year-old languishing in 16th place in the final Drivers’ Championship.

The Canadian posted top-10 finishes in just six races as Aston Martin struggled to keep pace with a fiercely competitive midfield. His best finish came in the season opener in Melbourne, where he placed sixth, but despite struggles, he will continue to race for the team next season after agreeing a contract extension back in June 2024.

7

George Russell

Salary: $15 million | Bonuses: $11 million | Total: $26 million

In his first year as the clear number one driver at Mercedes, George Russell has taken the opportunity by the scruff of the neck, qualifying behind his teammate Antonelli just three times over the course of the season.

The British driver has squeezed every ounce of performance out of his Mercedes, collecting nine podiums and winning in Canada and Singapore, despite his inferior pace compared to the McLaren and Red Bull cars.

Russell has remained consistent throughout, helping him to a fourth-place finish in the final standings behind the three title contenders.

6

Fernando Alonso

Salary: $24 million | Bonuses: $2.5 million | Total: $26.5 million

Fernando Alonso is keen to finish his glittering Formula 1 career on a high, but will struggle to do so in a car that has simply not had the pace.

His woes were most apparent in the early stages of the season, with multiple retirements and finishes outside the top 10, but he began to find some pace later in the season, collecting nine top-10 finishes that saw him finish 12th in the overall standings.

Alonso told AS.com in September that if the car performs well in 2026, it might be his last season, but after this year, that is a big ‘if.’

5

Charles Leclerc

Salary: $30 million | Bonuses $0 million | Total: $30 million

Widely regarded in Formula 1, and especially at Ferrari, as a world champion in waiting, Charles Leclerc has been forced to contend with a car that has been well off the pace of the leaders.

Despite this, the Monegasque star has managed seven podiums and consistent top-10 finishes to land him fifth in the Drivers’ Championship.

This season has been another case of ‘back to the lab’ for the Ferrari team, who will hope to produce a stronger car in 2026 and unlock the true potential of their star-studded driver line-up.

4

Oscar Piastri

Salary: $10 million | Bonuses: $27.5 million | Total: $37.5 million

Oscar Piastri showed early on that he had no intention of rolling over for Lando Norris as the McLaren pair duelled for the championship right up until the finale in Abu Dhabi.

The Australian will be mightily disappointed to have fallen short after holding a commanding 34-point lead over his rival following the Dutch Grand Prix in late August. He ultimately finished 13 points behind his teammate and 11 behind Max Verstappen, but with seven wins and a host of podium finishes, the 24-year-old has what it takes to turn the tide next season.

3

Lando Norris

Salary: $18 million | Bonuses: $39.5 million | Total: $57.5 million

The 2025 Formula 1 World Champion left it later than he would have liked to begin his charge. After being second best to Piastri early on, Norris has been on a tear since September, winning in Hungary, Mexico, and Brazil to finish with seven wins and 18 podiums for the season.

He held his nerve when it mattered, fighting off the late surge of Verstappen to become the 11th British Formula 1 World Champion and the first McLaren winner since Hamilton in 2008.

The 26-year-old was in floods of tears after crossing the line in Abu Dhabi, dedicating his victory to his team and the unwavering support of his parents.

2

Lewis Hamilton

Salary: $70 million | Bonuses: $0.5 million | Total: $70.5 million

After 12 seasons with Mercedes and six Drivers’ Championships, the 40-year-old veteran announced that he would be joining Ferrari to live his childhood dream of racing for the Formula 1 giants. Fast-forward to November, and a downtrodden Hamilton described his first season in red as a “nightmare”, perplexed by his inability to get to grips with the car and match the pace of his teammate Leclerc.

After a season without a podium and only a Sprint Race victory in China, the British superstar will hope the new 2026 regulations shake things up, and Ferrari can emerge with a car that has him competing at the top of the grid again.

1

Max Verstappen

Salary: $65 million | Bonuses: $11 million | Total: $76 million

This year’s championship battle was a conflict of juxtaposed strategies, with the fair racing ‘Papaya rules’ at McLaren versus the sole number one driver in Max Verstappen with Red Bull.

Verstappen admitted that it was the failings of McLaren that had helped reignite his late title charge, which saw him close a deficit of over 100 points to his rivals to just two points by the end of the season. It helped that the Dutchman barely put a foot wrong; his collision with George Russell in Barcelona the only obvious blunder over the course of his season.

He exuded the composure of a man with four straight Drivers’ Championships, but despite racking up eight wins, including a victory on the final day, his streak was broken by the finest of margins.