LEWIS HAMILTON is set to once again be Formula One’s top earner on a truly staggering £40million pay packet.
Mercedes star Hamilton – who tops the Sunday Times’ Sports Rich List – will earn well over twice as much as every other driver when he agrees to a contract for 2021.
Sebastian Vettel was the second highest-earner in 2020 but has traded his £37m Ferrari pay packet for a more modest £12.5m at Aston Martin.
Returning legend Fernando Alonso is set to pocket £15m when he gets back into the Renault, known as Alpine in 2021.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is on a £14m contract that will likely dwarf new team-mate Sergio Perez’s deal.
The Mexican’s 2021 salary is unknown but expected to be around the £2.5m he earned at Racing Point last year.
Daniel Ricciardo comes in at fifth on a £12.5m deal with McLaren, a reduction on his £16m Renault wage with a heavily bonus-based agreement at his new home.
Charles Leclerc’s £8m Ferrari salary puts him sixth, ahead of Valtteri Bottas at world champions Merc on £6.5m.
Scuderia newboy Carlos Sainz is one of few drivers to earn a pay rise ahead of 2021 with a bump up to £5.3m as he swaps Ferrari from McLaren.
Kimi Raikkonen, Lance Stroll and Esteban Ocon are the only other drivers thought to earn seven-figure sums.
Lewis Hamilton just needs to put pen to paper on his £40million deal to race in 2021Credit: PA:Press Association
The new season will see a handful of rookies enter the paddock in Mick Schumacher, Nikita Mazepin and Yuki Tsunoda.
Racing gets underway in Bahrain on March 28 with a three-day test set for the Sakhir circuit from March 2-4.
The Australian Grand Prix has been put back to November with Imola remaining on the calendar after a successful return to the historic venue in 2020.
Saudi Arabia and the Dutch circuit Zandvoort are on the calendar, with no place for the highly anticipated Vietnamese GO.
F1 star Lewis Hamilton wakes up on birthday unemployed as new £40m-a-year Mercedes deal rumbles on
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
