2024 F1 driver contract lengths and wages with Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes deal

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The contract details of the 20 drivers contesting the 2024 Formula 1 season including Lewis Hamilton’s table-topping salary at Mercedes and when they are all free agents.

Formula 1 started 2024 with the same grid which contested the final race of 2023 at the Abu Dhabi GP. It was the first time ever that F1 saw every team retain the drivers who finished the previous year. But the field has since changed since the opening round of the 2024 season.

Red Bull put AlphaTauri’s line-up on shuffle in 2023 as the team sought to give Nyck de Vries his first full season in F1 at their junior team. But De Vries disappointed and lost the drive to Daniel Ricciardo, who met the same fate in 2024 after AlphaTauri became Visa Cash App RB.

F1 started 2024 with an entirely unchanged driver line-up

Ricciardo also only enjoyed seven races of the 2023 season as Liam Lawson stepped in for the Australian. AlphaTauri, again, turned to Red Bull’s reserve driver when Ricciardo broke a bone in his hand at the Dutch GP. But Ricciardo did enough to get the drive full-time in 2024.

It was not until after the final round of 2023 that Williams finalised the driver line-up for the 2024 F1 season, though. The Grove squad left it late before retaining Logan Sargeant for his second year on the grid. Yet the American did not set out the 2024 Formula 1 season in full.

Williams made a mid-season driver change after the 2024 running of the Dutch Grand Prix as academy driver Franco Colapinto replaced Sargeant for the remaining nine rounds of the year. Red Bull would also swap Ricciardo out for Lawson at RB for the last six rounds of 2024.

So, with that in mind, here are all of the contract lengths and wages for F1’s Class of 2024…

Red Bull: Max Verstappen

Contract until: End of 2028
Yearly base salary: $45m (£35.5m)

Red Bull have Max Verstappen tied down on one of the longest contracts in F1 with his deal running through 2028. The Milton Keynes team locked the 26-year-old driver into the terms in March 2022. The Dutchman agreed to it three months after securing his first drivers title.

According to Forbes, the contract Red Bull offered sees Verstappen earn a yearly base salary of $45m (£33.5m). But he can be the best-paid driver on the grid through bonuses, which take his overall wage to $70m (£55m) per year. Red Bull will not mind it if he keeps winning.

Red Bull: Sergio Perez

Contract until: End of 2025
Yearly base salary: $10m (£8m)

Red Bull gifted Sergio Perez a contract extension following the 2024 Monaco GP that keeps him in Milton Keynes through at least the 2025 season. The Mexican’s extension was for one additional year but contains options on the driver’s and the team’s side for the 2026 season.

His extension also marked Perez’s third contract with Red Bull having previously signed fresh terms after winning the Monaco GP in 2022. His second and third deals saw the Guadalajara native earn a base salary of $10m (£8m) per year, plus $6m (£5m) in bonuses, per Forbes.

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $55m (£43.5m)

No driver on the 2024 Formula 1 grid earns a higher base salary than Hamilton thanks to the deal he signed with Mercedes in August 2023. But the seven-time F1 champion activated an escape clause in his deal running through 2025 in February 2024 to seal a switch to Ferrari.

Hamilton stunned the paddock by agreeing a multi-year contract to replace Carlos Sainz for the 2025 season at Ferrari. The Briton will earn more than $100m (£78m) a year racing with the Scuderia between his salary, sponsors, image rights and bonuses, according to Formu1a.

Forbes cites Hamilton’s wage at Mercedes at a base $55m (£43.5m) a year with the contract he signed in August 2023. His salary with the Silver Arrows for the 2024 season is even fully guaranteed. The Stevenage-born star does not have to trigger any clauses to earn his wage.

Mercedes: George Russell

Contract until: End of 2025
Yearly base salary: $4m (£3m)

Mercedes also locked George Russell down through the 2025 F1 season when the Brackley squad gave Hamilton a new contract in August 2023. He was also due to be out of contract after the 2023 season. But Russell showed Mercedes his worth through the 2022 campaign.

According to Forbes, ending the 2022 F1 season fourth in the drivers’ standings and winning the 2022 Sao Paulo GP preceded Mercedes handing Russell a base salary of $4m (£3m) per year. He can earn up to $9m (£7m) a year, however, with an extra $5m (£4m) from bonuses.

Ferrari: Charles Leclerc

Contract until: End of 2029
Yearly base salary: €30m (£25.5m)

Ferrari locked Charles Leclerc down with a new contract for ‘several’ more years in January 2024. The deal is believed to take the Monegasque racer through the 2029 season but may feature various release clauses. Leclerc was previously due to be out of contract after 2024.

Reports by Corriere della Sera note that Ferrari also agreed to increase Leclerc’s wage from €25m (£21.5m) a year to €30m (£25.5m). He can also earn a further €5m (£4m) in bonuses. Ferrari also marked Leclerc as the leader of their project under team boss, Frederic Vasseur.

Ferrari: Carlos Sainz

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $8m (£6m)

Sainz will leave Ferrari when his contract expires after the 2024 season following the team’s decision to sign Hamilton for 2025. The Spaniard had held talks with the Scuderia for a new deal in Maranello. But Ferrari president John Elkann could not turn down signing Hamilton.

Ferrari last handed Sainz a new contract in April 2022 and he eventually signed terms to join Williams from 2025 in July 2024. The Scuderia last extended Sainz’s deal before he became a Grand Prix winner at the 2022 British GP, then 2023 Singapore GP and 2024 Australian GP.

The Madrid native was even the only non-Red Bull Grand Prix winner in 2023. But Ferrari decided against extending Sainz’s contract past 2024, which Forbes notes was worth $8m (£6m) a year. Sainz can also earn a further $6m (£5m) per year with Ferrari after bonuses.

McLaren: Lando Norris

Contract until: End of 2028
Yearly base salary: Up to £20m

McLaren kicked 2024 off by giving Lando Norris a new contract that January, which tied him down through 2028. The Briton’s extension could even take Norris through the 2029 season with the Woking squad. While the Daily Mail cites Norris’ yearly wage is worth up to £20m.

Norris could even double his salary to £40m during the course of the contract he agreed to sign in January 2024. McLaren CEO Zak Brown was desperate to agree on terms with Norris otherwise a free agent after 2025 and already attracting the interest of teams like Red Bull.

McLaren: Oscar Piastri

Contract until: End of 2026
Yearly base salary: $3m (£2.5m)

McLaren moved in September 2023 to lock Oscar Piastri down with a new contract through the 2026 F1 season. The Woking squad relished the results the Australian registered during the first half of his rookie season. He would even later win the Sprint at the 2023 Qatar GP.

Piastri utilised McLaren starting the 2023 season with one of the slowest cars on the grid to grow into F1. But once he received the team’s first major upgrades at the British GP, Piastri took third on the grid and would have got a maiden Grand Prix podium but for a safety car.

The 22-year-old eventually got on a podium at the 2023 Japanese GP, before taking pole for the Sprint at the Qatar GP. He also made the Qatar GP rostrum in second for the Melbourne natives’ best Grand Prix result to date. Piastri also finished the Sprint at the Belgian GP in P2.

According to Forbes, his successes as a rookie convinced McLaren to give Piastri a contract worth $3m (£2.5m) a year. But he can also earn a further $5m (£4m) with bonuses through 2026. Per RacingNews365, Piastri’s first Formula 1 contract was worth $2m (£1.5m) a year.

Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso

Contract until: At least end of 2026
Yearly base salary: $24m (£19m)

Sebastian Vettel retiring after the 2022 season saw Aston Martin sign two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso as the German’s replacement. The 2005 and 2006 title-winner for Renault left Alpine for the Silverstone squad. He joined with a two-year contract to the end of 2024.

Alonso enjoyed a sensational first season with Aston Martin in 2023 with eight podiums and fourth in the drivers’ standings. So, the Silverstone squad signed the Spaniard to a new deal in April 2024. Alonso agreed to stay at Aston Martin through at least the 2026 F1 campaign.

According to Forbes, Alonso’s initial contract at Aston Martin covering 2023 and 2024 made him the third best-paid Formula 1 driver. The 42-year-old earned a base salary worth $24m (£19m). But the Oviedo native could make a further $10m (£8m) in bonuses with the team.

Aston Martin: Lance Stroll

Contract until: At least end of 2026
Yearly base salary: $2m (£1.5m)

Aston Martin confirmed ahead of the 2024 Austrian GP that Lance Stroll had signed a new, long-term contract keeping him at the Silverstone squad through at least the 2026 season. The Canadian has driven for the team his billionaire dad, Lawrence Stroll, owns since 2019.

RacingNews365 claimed that Stroll previously raced on a rolling one-year contract carrying a base salary of $2m (£1.5m). The terms of his latest deal keeping Stroll at Aston Martin into F1’s new 2026 engine and chassis regulations are still to be confirmed at the time of writing.

Alpine: Pierre Gasly

Contract until: Beyond 2025
Yearly base salary: $5m (£4m)

Alpine announced ahead of the 2024 Austrian GP that Pierre Gasly signed a multi-year, long-term contract extension for 2025 and beyond. The Frenchman was otherwise due to be out of contract at the end of 2024 on terms he agreed to replace Alonso from the 2023 season.

Gasly stood out to Alpine as a replacement for Alonso having won the 2020 Italian GP racing for AlphaTauri. Forbes also noted that the Enstone squad offered Gasly a base salary of $5m (£4m), plus up to $3m (£2.5m) with bonuses, at first. His new terms remain to be confirmed.

Alpine: Esteban Ocon

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $6m (£5m)

Alpine confirmed in June 2024 that Esteban Ocon will leave the Enstone squad at the end of his contract after the 2024 F1 season. The Renault-owned outfit and Frenchman decided to mutually part ways after Ocon collided with teammate Gasly during that year’s Monaco GP.

Ocon had last signed new terms for Alpine in June 2021 before winning the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. The win was his first race victory in F1 and showed why Alpine had improved his terms agreed on to join in 2020. RacingNews365 notes Alpine pay Ocon a $6m (£5m) wage.

In response to losing his Alpine seat, Ocon agreed to sign a multi-year contract with Haas in July 2024. He will join the American-owned team from the 2025 season to form a new line-up beside Oliver Bearman, who Haas also signed in July 2024 to graduate from Formula 2.

Williams: Alex Albon

Contract until: At least end of 2027
Yearly base salary: $3m (£2.5m)

Williams announced in May 2024 that Alex Albon had signed a new, long-term contract with the team through at least the 2027 Formula 1 season. Team principal James Vowles sought to lock down the London-born Thai in Grove after he started to draw interest from Red Bull.

Albon’s previous terms were due to take him through 2025 after agreeing the deal in August 2022. Williams also brought Albon back to F1 in 2022 after spending the prior season as Red Bull’s reserve while he raced in DTM. Albon drove for Red Bull from mid-2019 through 2020.

RacingNews365 cited the value of Albon’s contract through 2025 at $3m (£2.5m) a year. He also rewarded Williams’ faith as Albon emerged as the team’s lead driver in the 2023 term.

Williams: Logan Sargeant

Contract until: Terminated early in August 2024
Yearly base salary: $1m (£800k)

Williams terminated Sargeant’s contract worth $1m (£800k), per RacingNews365, in August 2024. His terms were set to run until the end of the season after signing a second 12-month deal after a rookie term in which Sargeant scored his sole with P10 in the United States GP.

Team boss Vowles ultimately opted to drop the American early, having already signed Sainz to join Williams in 2025, after Sargeant destroyed his car in practice for the 2024 Dutch GP. The Florida native tried to ride the kerb for too long and drove onto the grass at Zandvoort.

Williams: Franco Colapinto

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $1m (£800k)

Vowles turned to Williams’ driver academy when looking for Sargeant’s successor and opted to promote Colapinto for the remaining rounds in 2024. The Formula 2 race-winner became the first Argentine F1 driver for 23 years when Colapinto debuted with P12 in the Italian GP.

Visa Cash App RB: Yuki Tsunoda

Contract until: End of 2025
Yearly base salary: $1m (£800k)

Visa Cash App RB confirmed at the 2024 Canadian GP that the team had taken up an option to keep Yuki Tsunoda under contract for 2025. The Japanese talent has raced for the Faenza outfit since his debut in 2021. The Radio Times notes Tsunoda’s wage at RB is $1m (£800k).

Visa Cash App RB: Daniel Ricciardo

Contract until: Terminated early in September 2024
Yearly base salary: $2m (£1.5m)

AlphaTauri confirmed that Ricciardo would race full-time with the team as they became Visa Cash App RB in 2024 in September 2023. He also put pen to paper on a contract worth $2m (£1.5m) a year. But the Australian did not see it out as Ricciardo was sidelined in September.

Visa Cash App RB: Liam Lawson

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: Unconfirmed

Red Bull canned Ricciardo for Lawson in the Visa Cash App RB line-up for the last six rounds of the 2024 F1 season to judge the New Zealander’s performances in view of a full-time seat in 2025. If he fails to deliver, Lawson could return to his reserve driver status again next year.

Sauber: Valtteri Bottas

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $10m (£8m)

Whilst operating under the Alfa Romeo name for sponsorship reasons, Sauber gave Valtteri Bottas a multi-year contract to join the team from the 2022 season. But his deal will expire at the end of 2024. RacingNews365 notes that the Finn earns $10m (£8m) a year with Sauber.

Sauber: Zhou Guanyu

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $2m (£1.5m)

Sauber confirmed in September 2023 that Zhou Guanyu would remain with the team for the 2024 F1 season. It was another single-year deal for Formula 1’s first full-time Chinese driver. He earnt $2m (£1.5m) during 2023, per RacingNews365, and scored six points to Bottas’ 10.

Haas: Nico Hulkenberg

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $2m (£1.5m)

August 2023 saw Haas share that the team handed Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen new contracts for the 2024 F1 season. Hulkenberg joined the American squad at the start of 2023 for his return to a full-time drive. He had not held a full-time job since the end of 2019.

Hulkenberg scored his only Grand Prix points of 2023 at the Australian GP with P7. He even finished the Sprint at the Austrian GP in P6. But as his terms expired after 2024, Hulkenberg signed for Sauber in April 2024 to join on a three-year deal ahead of becoming Audi in 2026.

Haas: Kevin Magnussen

Contract until: End of 2024
Yearly base salary: $5m (£4m)

Haas announced in July 2024 that Magnussen will vacate his race seat at the end of the year when his driver contract expires. RacingNews365 noted in its list of Formula 1 driver salaries that Haas pay Hulkenberg $2m (£1.5m) a year compared to Magnussen’s $5m (£4m) salary.