F1 driver net worth 2026: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen top list with huge fortune
Lewis Hamilton is among the wealthiest athletes in the world.
Lewis Hamilton describing F1 as a “billionaire boys club” has never been truer but once drivers get onto the grid, they are soon paid enormous amounts of money.
While their salaries with the teams are big, almost all of the drivers have got lucrative sponsors behind them, helping to pump up their overall net worth. With that in mind, here’s the 2026 grid ranked on how their estimated fortune.
Formula 1 drivers’ net worth of the 2026 grid
22. Arvid Lindblad – $500k to $1m
As the newest member of the F1 grid, Lindblad’s status as the worst-paid driver on the grid is unsurprising.
His salary has been reported to be between $500k and $1m per season and given he is at the start of his F1 career, he has minimal sponsors.
Exact figures on his net worth have not been widely reported but it is suggested to be around the $1m mark.
=20. Oliver Bearman – $1m
With $2m coming from his Haas contract, Bearman complements his salary with sponsors from Deus X and Eurospares.
He is also a co-director of his family’s management company OBR Management which takes his net worth to $1m.
=20. Isack Hadjar – $1m
Hadjar’s promotion to Red Bull came with a nice pay rise and he is now reportedly on $5m a year which, while being some way off his team-mate, puts him on par with far more experienced drivers.
His sponsors are the Fédération Française du Sport Automobile, NH Expertises, Swing One, Moteur et Sens and Pit Legend.
Hadjar’s net worth is estimated to be $1m.
19. Liam Lawson – $1.5m to $2m
Lawson is still relatively new in his F1 career and is reported to be on a wage of $3m mark at Racing Bulls.
His sponsors include Turners, Porter Group, Giltrap Group and Rodin Cars and his estimated net worth is between $1.5m and $2m.
18. Gabriel Bortoleto – $3m
Relative newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto is being paid a reported $2m a year to race for Audi and is backed by Brazilian brands such as Porto Seguro, Banco de Brasília, O Boticario and Mercado Libre.
=16. Nico Hulkenberg – $10m
The German’s Audi deal reportedly earns him $6m a year and he has plenty of sponsors from his home nation including Gebr. Heinemann and Adidas.
But a lack of major success in the sport means his net worth is a comparatively modest at $10m.
=16. Franco Colapinto – $10m
As one of two drivers from South America, Colapinto is hugely marketable and that has been suggested as one of the reasons Alpine was so keen to bring him on board.
His primary backer is Mercado Libre, an Argentine company that generated $28.9 billion in revenue in 2025, but Colapinto has a decent number of other sponsors supporting him, too.
As for his Alpine contract, that is valued at $3m, making him one of the lower-paid drivers on the grid.
=14. Alex Albon – $15m
Albon’s status as a Thai driver has opened him up to some lucrative sponsorship deals in the region, including with oil company PTT Lubricants and wine brand Monsoon Valley.
Albon also has investments through TMRW Sports and TGL Investment which combined with his $8m Williams salary, takes his net worth to a reported $15m.
=14. Kimi Antonelli – $15m
If he does go on to win the World Championship, you can expect Kimi Antonelli’s net worth to rise rapidly.
Currently, it is reported to be around $15m with a $12.5m Mercedes contract making up the most of that.
Meanwhile most of his sponsors are shared with Mercedes including IWC Schaffhausen, Adidas, and Monster Energy.
13. Esteban Ocon – $21m
Ocon is somewhat of an outlier on the F1 grid in that he did not come from money and so does not have a huge net worth despite his long career.
He allegedly banks $6m from Haas and his personal website lists Venum, Globe Air, Meros, Facom and Bianchet amongst his sponsors.
12. Pierre Gasly – $33m
Gasly’s Alpine extension reportedly put him up to $12m a year and the Frenchman supplements his income with plenty of sponsors.
His backers range from industries such as finance, fashion and sportswear with the likes of eToro, Reebok and Lacoste on his portfolio.
He also does some sponsoring of his own, backing a non-league football team that plays near the team’s factory in Enstone. He also co-owns FC Versailles in his native France.
=10. George Russell – $40m
Russell takes home $26m a year from his Mercedes deal and has sponsorships with UBS, Amaffi Perfume House, and Pershing Yachts.
The Mercedes academy graduate is valued at around $40m.
=10. Valtteri Bottas – $40m
Bottas is in the bottom half of driver salaries at $5m a year but inflates his income with plenty of activity away from the track.
Bottas’ relationship with Australian cyclist Tiffany Cromwell has made him a household name in the country and he has plenty of Aussie sponsors as a result. Bottas is also a notable cyclist and has a sponsorship with Canyon Bicycles.
He has a huge number of businesses including wine, gin, coffee and his own podcast with matching merchandise.
=6. Sergio Perez – $50m
With a population of 133 million people behind him, Perez is an attractive prospect for a team not just for his driving ability.
The list of sponsors behind him is huge but the most notable one is Telcel, owned by Carlos Slim, who was the world’s richest person from 2010 to 2013. Others included KitKat, Nestle, Claro and Mercado Libre.
His F1 contract is relatively modest at $5m, not surprising for a new F1 team, while his net worth has been estimated to be around $50m.
More on the F1 grid from PlanetF1.com
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=6. Oscar Piastri – $50m
Piastri put pen to paper on a new McLaren deal last year and with it earned himself a pay rise up to $37.5m, making him the fourth best driver on the grid.
He shares many of his sponsors with the team such as Google and Monster Energy but also has partnerships with Quad Lock, Grill’d and ONEflight.
All in all, the Australian’s net worth is estimated to be around $50m.
=6. Lance Stroll – $50m
Stroll is the son of Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll who has an estimated net worth of $3.9bn but as for his own value, that is closer to $50m.
He gets paid $13.5m a year from Aston Martin and shares many of the team’s sponsors such as JCB, Bombardier and Cognizant.
He is the heir to his father’s fortune though so his net worth will likely significantly rise in the future.
=6. Carlos Sainz – $50m
As a race winner and former Ferrari driver, Sainz remains very marketable even while driving for Williams.
The Grove team pays him $13m a year which is a relatively modest salary but he has lucrative sponsorship deals with Estrella Galicia and L’Oreal.
Spanish newspaper Marca predicted Sainz’s net worth to be around $50m.
5. Lando Norris – $60m
The reigning World Champion pockets $57.5m a year from McLaren, making him the third best-paid driver on the grid.
He also has a huge number of sponsors and, after starting his own brand Quadrant, sold a majority stake to Veloce Media Group in July 2025. He does still own 20% of the company though.
Overall, Norris is valued between $37m and as high as $80m.
4. Charles Leclerc – $125m
A Monaco-born driver for Ferrari makes Charles Leclerc one of the most marketable members of the grid.
Leclerc has a long list of notable sponsors with major brands such as Puma, Peroni, Richard Mille and Riva amongst them.
The 28-year-old also has number of his own investments including an ice cream brand and shares in tech companies.
You could even argue that his Ferrari contract is on the low side with a reported wage of $30m a year, less than what Piastri earns.
3. Max Verstappen – $210m
Verstappen narrowly beats Hamilton to being the highest-paid driver on the grid but the Dutchman is still some way behind in terms of overall wealth.
His current Red Bull deal, which expires in 2028, is valued at $76m with $65m of that being base salary and the remainder in bonuses.
Away from the track, Verstappen has a number of long-term sponsors such as Electronic Arts, Fanatics, Ford Motor Company, and Dutch beer company Heineken.
His overall net worth has been reported to be $210m.
2. Fernando Alonso – $260m
It may have been a while since Alonso won a race but he remains one of the most popular drivers on the grid, both for the fans and potential commercial partners.
He has a huge list of personal sponsors such as Kimoa, Flexicar and RAW Superdrink but also shares some with Aston Martin like BOSS.
He has his own Fernando Alonso Sports Complex in his native Asturias, which features both a museum of his career and a karting circuit for the next generation.
Alonso is also the founder of A14 Management which has Gabriel Bortoleto amongst its clients.
The two-time world champion gets paid $26.5m from Aston, making him the sixth-best paid driver on the grid.
1. Lewis Hamilton – $586m
Hamilton has been in F1 for 21 seasons now and his net worth portrays that.
His current Ferrari deal is estimated to be worth $70.5m but he is the most marketable driver on the grid and has a number of endorsements.
He has previously worked with Sony, Lululemon, IWC, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger and Dior, adding a considerable amount to his annual paycheck.
The Sunday Times Rich List estimated that he was the 294th wealthiest person in Britain in 2026, a rise of 56 places from the previous year.
The newspaper estimates his net worth to be around £435m, equating to $586m.
