Formula One world champion Max Verstappen had a dream 2022 season, holding on to his crown with ease and races to spare.
While Charles Leclerc's challenge in his Ferrari looked serious early on, ultimately it was the Red Bull driver who slipped into another gear as he won the drivers' title by a massive 146 points from the Monegasque, with Sergio Perez back in third.
In contrast, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton had a season to forget, finishing sixth in the standings without a Grand Prix win, and overshadowed by his Mercedes teammate George Russell, while both struggled with reliability issues.
Despite the disappointment, Hamilton spent 2022 as the best paid driver in Formula One — but has that salary league changed ahead of the first race of 2023, the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5?
Above is a photo gallery of the drivers in Formula One and their annual salaries for the 2023 F1 season, according to spotrac, an online sports team and player contract website.
To move on to the next image, click on the arrows, or if you're using a mobile device, simply swipe.
Who is Formula One's highest paid driver?
Verstappen has been rewarded for winning the F1 world championship for the last two seasons, and in 2023 will earn a salary of $55 million, according to spotrac.com, taking him ahead of Hamilton for the first time.
The 20 F1 drivers and their salaries
1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) $55 million
2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) $35 million
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) $24 million
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) $20 million
5. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) $12 million
6= Sergio Perez (Red Bull) $10 million
6= Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) $10 million
8. George Russell (Mercedes) $8 million
9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) $6 million
10= Kevin Magnussen (Haas) $5 million
10= Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), $5 million
10= Pierre Gasly (Alpine) $5 million
13. Alexander Albon (Williams) $3 million
14= Oscar Piastri (McLaren) $2 million
14= Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) $2 million
14= Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) $2 million
14= Nyck de Vries (AlphaTauri) $2 million
14= Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) $2 million
19= Logan Sargeant (Williams) $1 million
19= Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) $1 million
