"I honestly do not believe Lewis Hamilton is paid less than Max Verstappen": Fans surprised to see the Brit being paid less than the Dutch driver

F1 fans shared their views on a list of the 100 highest paid athletes in 2024, which included Max Verstappen ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Most fans did not seem to agree or believe that the Briton is paid less than the Dutchman after his new Ferrari contract.

Motorsports.com shared a list via X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, which was curated by Sportico, mentioning that Verstappen is the 18th highest paid athlete in the world ($76M) while Hamilton is 22nd ($60.1M).

Notably, the list was just for the year of 2024 and was topped by soccer superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo ($260M).

Majority of fans were in disbelief of the numbers, claiming that there is no way Lewis Hamilton is earning less than his Dutch rival, especially after signing his new contract with Ferrari.

But the seven-time world champion's contract with the Italian giants only came into effect in January 2025, meaning his new deal would have had no bearing on the numbers from the past year.

Many fans replied to the post, registering their disagreements or disappointment at the list focusing on older numbers. X user @GabrielboutF1 wrote:

"I honestly do not believe Hamilton is payed less than Verstappen. Not in a Ferrari."

"Stop showing old news Hamilton is close to 100 mill with Ferrari in 2025," another user wrote.

"This is deceptive as not all contracts are the same length. Should be down on a per year basis to show actual value for 2024," suggested another fan.

Some other fans focused on Max Verstappen and his numbers, saying:

"If max got a new contract he would be top 3," a fan claimed .

"Common Max Verstappen W,"another user commented.

If media reports are to be believed, Lewis Hamilton's all-encompassing salary at Ferrari will amount to around $100 Million in 2025 [via Formu1a.uno]. His multi-year contract is reportedly estimated to be around $430 Million, including a large amount pledged to supporting the driver's Mission 44 initiative.

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Lewis Hamilton addresses his retirement from F1

Lewis Hamilton at the press conference during F1 Bahrain Testing Day 3 - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton explained that the thought of retirement is not even in his head at the moment and he could be in F1 for another 10 years if he wanted to. The Briton made these comments explaining how he feels that age is merely a state of mind.

During his interview with TIME, Hamilton expressed that he was 'built different' than anyone else who has been in F1 before. He explained that he does not feel old and could well continue till he is 50 years old.

"What I can tell you is, retirement is nowhere on my radar,” he said. “I could be here until I’m 50, who knows,” Hamilton said [as quoted by PlanetF1].

Lewis Hamilton turned 40 in January, the same month his multi-year contract with Ferrari came into action. The team from Maranello don't seem to have any reservations about the age of statistically the most successful driver in F1's history, as they hope to return to the glory days with the seven-time champion behind the wheel.