Who is the most cost effective driver? How F1 salaries compare to points scored
The cost per point can vary wildly across the F1 grid.
Getting value for money is not something Formula 1 teams have to think about too much but the mega salaries on offer to drivers can be more cost-effective for some than others.
Our methodology for this piece has been to take reported salaries from sources like Forbes and divide that figure by the points scored.
Isack Hadjar is the best points-per-value driver in Formula 1
Starting with the drivers that are very cost effective and topping the charts is rookie of the year candidate Isack Hadjar.
The Frenchman’s status as a rookie meant he is on a relatively low reported salary of $1m but he drove with the skill of someone with a far higher wage. Hadjar finished 12th in the standings with 51 points meaning Red Bull paid $19,609 per point.
Another impressive rookie was Oliver Bearman who is reported to be on the same wage as Hadjar. The Haas man scored 41 points, beating experienced team-mate Esteban Ocon, and cost $24,390 per point.
A more experienced driver is Alex Albon who is reported to be on a modest $3m, proving excellent value with his 73 points.
George Russell, on a reported $26m, rounds out the top five with $81,505 for every one of his 319 points.
Lewis Hamilton one of the most costly drivers on the F1 grid
At the other end of the scale, Pierre Gasly is perhaps the unsurprising most expensive driver even if not all of the blame will go his way.
Gasly’s status as one of the most experienced drivers on the grid plus a new contract signed in September mean he is on a reported $12m a year, but the Alpine’s weakness meant he could only score 22 points as the Anglo-French outfit finished last in the standings.
Still, he scored all of the team’s points suggesting he is worth the money Alpine are giving him.
Next on the list is Fernando Alonso who earns a reported $26.5m from Aston Martin. Unfortunately, the Silverstone team failed to recapture their 2023 form and finished seventh in the standings.
As part of that, Alonso scored 56 points which cost Aston $473,214 each time. The Spaniard is not the only Aston driver in the top five as team-mate Lance Stroll is the fourth most expensive at $409,091 per point. The Canadian earns a reported $13.5m per year.
When you are the holder of the second most lucrative deals in F1, your performance has to go some way to make it cost effective and unfortunately for Lewis Hamilton, that has not been the case in 2025.
A move to Ferrari saw a pay rise for Hamilton, putting him on the highest base salary of any driver, but he failed to live up to it with 156 points, 86 points fewer than team-mate Charles Leclerc.
For that, Ferrari paid $451,923 per point.
The final driver in the top five is Carlos Sainz who made a slow start at Williams. Signed for a reported wage of $13m, the Spaniard had better success in the second half of the year but still only accrued 64 points, nine fewer than his team-mate.
Williams paid $203,125 for every one of those points.
What about the title contenders?
Max Verstappen earned the most of any driver in 2025 with a reported $76m made up of salary and bonsues but there will be few at Red Bull who did not believe it was worth it.
His great year, in which he was two points off a fifth title, saw him score 421 points, making it $180,523 per point.
As for title winner Lando Norris, he cost McLaren $135,934 per point given his 423 points and $57.5m pay packet.
Oscar Piastri was even more cost-effective at $91,463.
The list in full
Hadjar – $19,608
Bearman – $24,390
Albon – $41,096
Lawson – $78,947
Russell – $81,505
Antonelli – $83,333
Tsunoda – $90,909
Piastri – $91,463
Hulkenberg – $98,039
Bortoleto – $105,263
Leclerc – $123,967
Norris – $135,934
Ocon – $157,895
Verstappen – $180,523
Sainz – $203,125
Colapinto – $300,000
Stroll – $409,091
Hamilton – $451,923
Alonso – $473,214
Gasly – $545,455
Franco Colapinto, on a reported $300,000 salary, failed to score a point.
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