Monday 18th August 2014

Motorsport on Monday: 18/08/14

Points per pound - F1 driver salaries revealed and analysed

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Last week I stumbled across a list of F1 driver salaries for 2014 - if you thought those lads who punt an inflated pig's bladder around at the weekend were well paid, think again.

However, the gulf between what the (supposed) top drivers net and the tail end of the grid is even larger than the shortfall the poor bloke who just flogged that 250 GTO at Pebble Beach experienced.

Well you'd be angry earning 8m euros less

The talking up of that car's pre-auction predicted value is another story entirely, however.

Euro trash
There's a yawning 21.85 million euro (£17.5 million) chasm between the highest and lowest paid pedallers in Formula 1, with the top echelon stuffing their mattresses with more than you might think, and the bottom tier of the driver salary table much less than you might have guessed.

Ferrari has splashed the cash this season to bring Kimi back to Maranello. It's shelling out 44 million euros (£35.3 million) between its two drivers, making it the team with the highest wage bill. Ferrari put both Alonso and Raikkonen on a 22 million euro a year contract so it wouldn't lose any toys over the side of the Prancing Horse pram - maybe it would have been better off spending some of that cash on the car and employing cheaper drivers?

Which is exactly what Red Bull did. You can understand Vettel's pockets being lined to the same tune as the Ferrari duo's, as coming into this year he'd won four consecutive drivers' world titles. But he continues to be outshone by his Aussie teammate Daniel Ricciardo in 2014. The situation becomes even more embarrassing for Vettel when you see how much Ricciardo takes home.

Kobayashi's annual 150K euros looks meagre

Just 750,000 euros (£600,000) - 21 and a quarter million less than the German, yet the man from Down Under has scored 43 points more. Which raises another interesting point.

Points per pound
Everyone's interested in value for money. Whether you're looking at buying a hot hatch or a hypercar, you don't want to get shafted on price; it's just that your definition of being shafted and the number of zeros on the price is adjusted to the colour of your credit card.

PHers know the performance per pound equation generally occupies most of our man maths research. The stakes are higher, but it's the same in F1.

Vettel has cost Red Bull quarter of a million euros per point this season - or £200,000 - in terms of his salary. By comparison, the outlay on Ricciardo per point is just two per cent of Vettel's total at 5,725 euros (roughly £4,600). That actually seems reasonable when you compare footballers salaries and goals. Or many golfers total pay packets vs tournament wins.

Ricciardo: paid less than Vettel, scores more points

Mercedes' salary outlay is interesting, too. The gap is closer than Red Bull's but not as close as Ferrari's, with Hamilton actually getting paid more than Rosberg - 20 million euros (£16 million) plays 12 million euros (£9.6 million). Even Jenson Button bags more than the championship leader, raking in an overflowing wheelbarrow carrying a 16 million euro (£12.8 million) wedge.

In a closed world and a very claustrophobic atmosphere where egos clash and everyone knows everyone else's business, could the pay gap be a faint factor in Lewis and Nico's sniping? You'd like to think not - that they're both so tetchy because the title means so much to them. But there could be a bit of tension between 'humble' diamond earing Hamilton and 'grounded' "I've lived in the same flat in Monaco all my life" Rosberg over dosh.

Paid a pittance
The poor drivers flogging their guts out at the tail end of the field actually get paid a fairly meagre salary, given they're putting themselves at risk every time they roll out of pit lane - even if it is something they love.

Example: the lowest paid drivers, Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson, get 'just' 150,000 euros a year (£120,000). Wayne Rooney gets over twice that for one week's 'work' at Manchester United.

Ferrari has the highest wage bill in F1

Others drivers you might think are being fiscally remunerated a touch too much given their performances this season include Lotus' Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean - they have eight DNFs between them this season, with the Venezuelan vehicle smasher not placing higher than 12th, meaning he's not scored a point in 2014.

It makes Valtteri Bottas' 1 million euro (£800,000) a year deal look like a good investment for Williams, while Massa on 4 million euros (£3.2 million) might be feeling the presence of younger, cheaper guns breathing down his neck.

So, who's over-paid talentless guff on the 2014 grid, and which teams have pulled a blinder on the performance-to-readies ratio? Full list below for you to decide.

2014 F1 driver salaries - euros

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) - 22 million
2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) - 22 million
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) - 22 million
4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - 20 million
5. Jenson Button (McLaren) - 16 million
6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - 12 million
7. Felipe Massa (Williams) - 4 million
8. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) - 4 million
9. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) - 3 million
10. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) - 3 million
11. Sergio Perez (Force India) - 3 million
12. Adrian Sutil (Sauber) - 2 million
13. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren) - 1 million
14. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) - 1 million
15. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) - 750,000
16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) - 750,000
17. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) - 500,000
18. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) - 400,000
19. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) - 250,000
20. Max Chilton (Marussia) - 200,000
21. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham) - 150,000
22. Marcus Ericsson Caterham - 150,000

[Images: LAT]

 

[RB Will]

Providing his contract allows it I'm guessing Ricciardo will be getting a handsome pay rise next year.

This segment made me want to kill myself

"the lowest paid drivers, Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson, get 'just' 150,000 euros a year (£120,000). Wayne Rooney gets over twice that for one week's 'work' at Manchester United."

He earns more running around for a couple of hours occasionally kicking a ball and falling over than I do working 5 days a week for 5 years in a serious job where thousands of people could be very ill or die if I cock up.

[RB Will]

also is everyone on a fixed salary now? Wasnt Kimi on a £ per point basis which is why Renault couldnt pay him last year as he scored about 3 times what they thought he would?