Speculation on Lewis Hamilton’s future was finally put at rest with news that the British driver had signed a one-year contract with Mercedes for the 2021 season.
The Stevenage-born driver was out of contract since January 1, but will now stay at Mercedes for at least another season. The contract also has the option of extending the deal by another year.
The new deal makes Hamilton the highest-paid driver on the circuit by some distance, according to The Sun.
Compared to his teammate Valtteri Bottas’ salary, Hamilton earns a whopping £34m more. Of all other drivers, Max Verstappen comes closest to Hamilton in terms of salary and he earns less than half of Hamilton’s figure.
In third place are Charles LeClerc of Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren. Both make £10.19m per year.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel earn £7.28m per year.
Rather surprisingly, Fernando Alonso, who is widely regarded as one of the finest drivers, is seventh on the list.
Here’s the full list:
Top 10 In Full
1) Lewis Hamilton: Mercedes – Annual Salary £40m
2) Max Verstappen: Red Bull – Annual Salary £18.2m
3) Charles Leclerc: Ferrari – Annual Salary £10.19m
4) Daniel Ricciardo: McLaren – Annual Salary £10.19m
5) Carlos Sainz: Ferrari – Annual Salary £7.28m
6) Sebastian Vettel: Aston Martin – Annual Salary £7.28m
7) Fernando Alonso: Alpine – Annual Salary £6.55m
8) Valtteri Bottas: Mercedes – Annual Salary £5.82m
9) Sergio Perez: Red Bull – Annual Salary £4.37m
10) Kimi Raikkonen: Alfa Romeo – Annual Salary £3.64m