Max Verstappen tops list of F1's top 10 highest-paid drivers in 2024: Reports
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has reportedly topped the list of highest-paid drivers for the 2024 season once again. The Dutch driver concluded yet another successful season, as he claimed his fourth consecutive driver's championship with the Austrian team.
Unlike the previous two seasons, the Dutchman did not have the fastest car for the majority of the season, which was evident in Red Bull slipping to P3 in the constructors championship behind Mclaren and Ferrari.
After his first triumph in 2021, Max Verstappen signed a long contract with the Milton-Keynes-based outfit that would see him race for them until the end of the 2028 season. Apart from the long deal, the 27-year-old also got a bump in salary that would see him earn around $55 million every year.
For the past two years, the four-time F1 world champion has been leading the grid in terms of the highest-paid drivers list and continued to do so this year as well. As reported by Forbes, Verstappen topped the list for the third successive year as he earned $75 million in the 2024 season, with $60m in salary and $15m in bonuses.
Verstappen is followed by archrival Lewis Hamilton, who collected his final paycheck with Mercedes of $55m and got $2m in bonuses, before his move to Ferrari in 2025. McLaren driver Lando Norris followed the two legends after his most successful year on track which was reflected in his pay as well given he earned $35m, which included $23m in bonuses on a $12m salary.
Max Verstappen speaks about his future with Red Bull
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen stated that he was "very loyal" to the team given that they invested heavily in his ascend to the top of the sport after year-long reports of him leaving them the next year.
Speaking with Motorsport.com, the 27-year-old said:
"I'm just very happy where I'm at, at the moment. I'm very loyal to the team. I appreciate, of course, what they have done for me from picking me up out of F3 and giving me an F1 seat and then going through all these emotions over all the years with these key people in the team.
"So, when there are tough times, it's very easy to say goodbye forget about it or ignore it. But I think it's actually way more important to actually face them and go through it together and deal with it and just try to just move on from there and focus back, of course, on the performance side of things and have fun out there."
Max Verstappen finished the 2024 season with 437 points and added another nine wins to his name to take the tally to 63.