Four F1 drivers in Forbes’ top 100

For many decades, F1 drivers have regularly featured in the rankings compiled by Forbes magazine, which lists the highest-paid athletes in the world.

The 2016 edition therefore crowns Lewis Hamilton, who, with his 46 million dollars, reaches the 11th place in the ranking, making him the highest among F1 drivers. The gap separating him from the overall winner, Christiano Ronaldo, is significant as the Portuguese has earned nearly 88 million dollars.

But the most interesting is to compare how these incomes are derived. For the Mercedes driver, his income from sponsorships ($4 million) represents only 9% of his total income, while the Real Madrid player derives 36% ($32 million) of his earnings from his sponsors.

It’s a prevailing trend that can be observed among other F1 drivers present in the ranking. Thus, Sebastian Vettel, 19th with 41 million dollars, receives only one million dollars from his sponsors, which is barely 2% of the total. The attractiveness of the Ferrari driver for sponsors other than those with Ferrari is therefore very limited.

The situation of Fernando Alonso is thus indicative of the difference in visibility that separates football players from F1 drivers. Fernando Alonso is ranked 24th with a total income of 36.5 million dollars. He finds himself between Zlatan Ibrahimovic (37.4 million) and Gareth Bale (35.9 million), but their income structures are also completely different, as the Swede derives 19% of his earnings from sponsors. Similarly, the Welshman reaches 31% for this same measure, while the Spaniard is at just 4%.

We can thus observe that the value of F1 drivers is primarily driven by their employers, who appreciate them for the work done on track and in the factory, rather than their attractiveness to sponsors and media visibility.

This ranking also highlights the difference in treatment between the two Mercedes drivers, as Nico Rosberg is also on this list but only in 98th place, with earnings of 21 million, 20 of which are paid by Mercedes. The current championship leader is therefore paid half as much as his teammate. It is understandable, then, that he has started negotiations to find a new agreement with a salary increase.

But in these negotiations, it’s Mercedes that holds the advantage since they currently have the best car on the grid, allowing their drivers to aim for the title. If the German were too greedy, the team would have no trouble bringing in another driver in his place, since every driver’s ambition is to aim for the title. Therefore, we can imagine that the salary increase for Nico Rosberg will be modest at the end of the discussions, especially since Mercedes had already conducted lengthy negotiations with Lewis Hamilton last year, before reaching an agreement until 2018.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr