Forbes F1 2025 rich list confirmed as Lando Norris beaten by two rivals despite title win

Lando Norris has reportedly landed a huge £30million windfall in bonuses thanks to his title-winning Formula 1 success. But it was only enough to make him F1's third-highest-paid driver this year as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton raked in even larger sums.

According to Forbes, his title win alone earned Norris a huge £7.5m bonus. Add that to his £13.5m base salary and the other £22m of add-ons he had already raked in and his efforts this year combine for gross earnings of more than £43m. And that figure does not include cash gained from personal brand deals and business interests, such as his gaming brand Quadrant.

Verstappen lost out on the title by just two points but his eight Grand Prix victories this year helped him add more than £8m in bonuses to his £49m Red Bull salary. That £57m windfall this year makes him F1's highest paid driver again and takes the Dutchman's on-track earnings over the last five years to a huge £242.5m.

Hamilton had an awful first season with Ferrari but continues to be very well compensated. His £52.5m-per-year base salary is the biggest in F1 but the seven-time champion added only a relatively negligible amount to that in bonuses, having failed to score a single Grand Prix podium all year.

Like Norris, Hamilton lives in Monaco which limits how much income tax he pays, though as British citizens they are still liable for tax from earnings generated in the UK.

Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri, who agreed a new multi-year contract extension in March, is fourth on the list. The more than £28m he earned this year will help to soften the blow of missing out on the title despite having led the championship for six months before a late-season wobble cost him the crown.

Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc rounds off the top five with estimated earnings of £22.5m, having also added nothing to his base salary in terms of performance-related bonuses despite seven podiums this year.

George Russell's earnings trail in the wake of those of his fellow Brits but still raked in £19.5m this year, £8.25m of which were bonus payments having been the only driver other than Norris, Verstappen and Piastri to win a Grand Prix.

Russell signed a Mercedes contract extension in October which provided a salary bump and also contains performance clauses which, if hit, will guarantee his place on the 2027 grid.

The other Brit on the grid this year, Oliver Bearman, is not in the top 10 earners after his maiden season on the F1 grid. But fellow rookie Kimi Antonelli is, having earned a little under £9.5m from his first season as Russell's team-mate at Mercedes.