How long does it take Formula 1 drivers to earn a regular salary?
Formula 1 (F1) racing has become an increasingly popular sport in recent years, reaching nearly 30 million fans across ESPN platforms during the 2024 season1.
It’s no secret that F1 drivers earn the big bucks, with Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen earning millions of dollars every year. But how does a regular salary compare, and just how easy is it for the world’s favourite F1 drivers to surpass it?
The team at the Ontario online casino Spin Genie have analyzed the 2024 F1 season data to discover how many miles and minutes it would take for the drivers to earn the median salary in Canada, the U.S. and the UK.
Which Formula 1 drivers earn a regular salary the quickest?
1. Lewis Hamilton - earning CAN $35,315 / US $24,507 / £19,712 per minute
Lewis Hamilton tops the list, earning a whopping CAN $35,315 (US $24,507 / £19,172) per minute. Lewis Hamilton would need to drive for less than 3 minutes to earn the median salary in Canada (CAN $69,696). To earn the median salary in the U.S. (US $61,786) and the UK (£37,430), he would need to drive for 1.7 minutes or 1.9 minutes, respectively.
In the 2024 season, Lewis won races in Belgium (completed in just under one hour and 20 minutes) and Great Britain (completed in just over one hour and 22 minutes).
2. Max Verstappen - earning CAN $29,543 / US $20,501 / £16,490 per minute
Max Verstappen is in second place, earning CAN $29,543 (US $20,501 / £16,490) per minute. This means earning the median Canadian salary would take him just 3.2 minutes. This is compared to 2.1 minutes for the median U.S. salary and 2.3 minutes for the median UK salary.
The Dutch-Belgian driver competes for the Red Bull team alongside Sergio Perez. He has won over 60 Grands Prix across 10 seasons and four F1 World Drivers’ Championship titles consecutively between 2021 and 2024.
3. Charles Leclerc - earning CAN $19,904 / US $13,812 / £11,110 per minute
Next is Charles Leclerc, who earns CAN $19,904 (US $13,812 / £11,110) per minute. Born and raised in Monte Carlo in Monaco, Leclerc has driven for Ferrari since 2019 and will be paired with Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 season. In 2024, he became the first Monégasque driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix in over 90 years.
To earn the median salary in Canada, Charles Leclerc would need to drive for 4.8 minutes. It would take him just 3.1 minutes to earn the median salary in the U.S. and 3.4 minutes to earn the median salary in the UK.
4. Fernando Alonso - earning CAN $15,763 / US $10,939 / £8,799 per minute
Fernando Alonso places fourth, earning CAN $15,763 (US $10,939 / £8,799) per minute. This means it would take him six minutes to earn the median Canadian salary, compared to 3.9 minutes for the median U.S. salary and 4.3 minutes for the median UK salary.
The Spanish driver, who is part of the Aston Martin team alongside Lance Stroll, placed ninth overall in the 2024 F1 season after earning 70 points. His best race was the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he placed fifth, completing the race in just under one hour and 21 minutes.
5. Lando Norris - earning CAN $13,158 / US $9,131 / £7,345 per minute
Next is Lando Norris, who earns CAN $13,158 (US $9,131 / £7,345) per minute. Norris joined the McLaren team in 2017, signing as a junior driver. He became the official McLaren test and reserve driver for the 2018 season before being contracted for the 2019 F1 World Championship.
Lando Norris would need to drive for 7.2 minutes to earn the median salary in Canada. It would take him 4.7 minutes to earn the median salary in the U.S. and just over five minutes to earn the median salary in the UK.
Which Formula 1 drivers have to drive the fewest miles to earn a regular salary?
1. Lewis Hamilton - earning CAN $12,618 / US $18,183 / £10,149 per mile
Lewis Hamilton also earns an impressive amount for every mile he drives, at CAN $12,618 (US $18,183 / £10,149). He would only need to drive 4.9 miles to earn the median Canadian salary, 3.6 miles for the median U.S. salary and 3.7 miles for the median UK salary.
Hamilton, who drove for Mercedes for over 10 years before joining Ferrari at the end of the 2024 season, has won seven F1 World Drivers’ Championship titles and is widely regarded as one of the sport's most complete drivers.
2. Max Verstappen - earning CAN $10,320 / US $14,872 / £8,301 per mile
Max Verstappen follows closely behind, earning CAN $10,320 (US $14,872 / £8,301) per mile. This means he could earn the median Canadian salary by driving for just six miles. To earn the median US and UK salaries, he would need to drive 4.4 and 4.5 miles, respectively.
Max won nine of the 24 races during the 2024 season, including Qatar, Canada, China, and Bahrain. This resulted in him winning the entire season with an impressive 437 points.
3. Charles Leclerc - earning CAN $6,879 / US $9,913 / £5,533 per mile
As Charles Leclerc earns around CAN $6,879 ( US $9,913 / £5,533) for every mile he drives, it would take him just nine miles to earn the median salary in Canada. This is compared to 6.6 miles for the median US salary and 6.8 miles for the median UK salary.
In addition to winning the race in Monaco, Charles also won the 2024 United States Grand Prix (completed in just over one hour and 35 minutes) and the Italy Grand Prix (completed in almost one hour and 15 minutes).
4. Fernando Alonso - earning CAN $5,504 / US $7,931 / £4,427 per mile
Fernando Alonso earns approximately CAN $5,504 ( US $7,931 / £4,427) per mile, meaning he can earn the median Canadian salary by driving 11.2 miles. To earn the median US and UK salaries, he would only need to drive 8.3 and 8.5 miles, respectively.
Fernando Alonso has won 32 Grands Prix over 21 seasons and two F1 World Drivers’ Championship titles, which he won in 2005 and 2006 with the Renault team.
5. Lando Norris - earning CAN $4,587 / US $6,610 / £3,690 per mile
It’s estimated that Lando Norris earns around CAN $4,587 (US $6,610 / £3,690 ) for every mile he drives. This means it would take him 13.5 miles to earn the median Canadian salary, 9.9 miles for the median US salary and 10.1 miles for the median UK salary.
Lando just missed out on the top spot in the 2024 F1 season, placing second overall with 374 points. He won four races throughout the season: Abu Dhabi, Singapore, the Netherlands and Miami.
Methodology:
We began by using the Radio Times to record the salaries of some of the top Formula 1 drivers in the 2024 season.
Next, we used Sky Sports to record each driver's race time for each race in the season. For any drivers who were more than one lap behind, we took their fastest lap time from the race and then multiplied the time by the number of laps they were behind. We then calculated each driver’s total race time throughout the season before dividing their salaries by the number of minutes they drove to calculate their earnings per minute.
We used Autosport to record the number of miles driven at each race track and combined these for a season total. We then divided each driver’s salary by the number of miles they drove to calculate their earnings per mile.
Next, we gathered the median salary in Canada, the U.S. and the UK. We then calculated how many minutes or miles each driver would need to drive to earn the median salary in each of the three countries. We did this by dividing each country’s median salary by each driver’s earnings per minute or mile.
1
