Max Verstappen pips Lewis Hamilton to become the highest paid driver for the 2025 F1 season: Reports

Max Verstappen will reportedly become the highest-paid driver in the 2025 F1 season, beating seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton by a marginal difference in salary. Racingnews 365 derived an estimated salary amount for all drivers, with the Dutchman leading the pack.

Verstappen won his maiden championship title in 2021 and never looked back. He has won four back-to-back titles, leading Red Bull to an extraordinary era of dominance.

In 2024, he fought a hard battle with Lando Norris to defend his championship by a difference of 63 points. Meanwhile, Red Bull is set to award Verstappen for his heroics with a whopping salary.

Racingnews 365 recently derived an estimated salary of drivers for the 2025 F1 season, excluding the sponsor deals and performance bonuses.

According to the report, Max Verstappen will be the highest-paid driver in the upcoming season, with a lucrative salary of $65 million. Moreover, Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion, is not far behind.

He will be driving for Scuderia Ferrari and is likely to earn 60 million euros in 2025, excluding the performance bonuses. Ferrari has reportedly promised him a huge sum of bonus payments off the track, which could total up his yearly earnings to as high as 100 million euros.

However, as far as basic salary is concerned, Verstappen has beaten Hamilton for the second year in a row. The third most expensive driver on this list is reportedly Charles Leclerc with an estimated salary of $35 million. He finished P3 in the drivers' championship last year and delivered consistently.

The 2025 F1 season will see many debuts of junior rookies. Kimi Antonelli, Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan, Gabriel Bortoleto, and Oliver Bearman will be making their debuts as full-time drivers.

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Max Verstappen named international driver of the year

Max Verstappen at FIA Awards 2024 (Image Source: Getty)

After a hard-fought championship victory in 2024, Red Bull ace Max Verstappen was honored at the recently concluded Autosport Awards. The Dutchman was named international driver of the year.

In a statement, he said:

"I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the readers of Autosport for voting me International Driver of the Year. It's my fourth time winning it. So that is, of course, a very nice moment. It was a very challenging year with a lot of nice wins and tough moments as well."

"But of course, the most important thing was to come out on top, and that's what we did as a team. So yes, I’m very proud of that, and once again, thank you very much for the award.”

Max Verstappen is now a four-time world champion, and is approaching a crucial season in 2025 where competition is expected to peak.