Top 10 highest earning F1 drivers of all time ranked

Formula One is known for being one of the richest sports in the world, but just which driver has earned the most of all time?

We all know the opulence and expense that can surround a Formula One race, especially with how much it can cost to catch a glimpse of the drivers.

Next year's calendar includes the debut of a race in Las Vegas, which is set to cost punters a minimum of $3112 in order to sit down.

But just how much are the drivers earning to take part in the season? Well Lewis Hamilton earns enough to reportedly be interested in helping to buy Manchester United from the Glazers but he's not actually the top earner in the history of the sport.

Yahoo collated data to work out who the top 10 of all time are when it comes to cash earned in motor racing's most prestigious sport.

=. Martin Brundle - $100 million: Now best known for his grid walks for Sky Sports, god how we love them, Brundle was an F1 driver from 1984 to 1996, driving for multiple teams.

As well as F1, he also drove in a number of other racing disciplines, including winning the Le Mans 24 in 1990 with Jaguar and finished second behind legend Ayrton Senna in the 1983 British Formula Three championship.

=. Ralf Schumacher - $100 million: Imagine being the second best Formula One driver in your own family, and by some distance.

The younger brother of the legend that is Michael Schumacher, Ralf still had a decent career and competed in F1 from 1997 to 2007 with Jordan, Williams and Toyota.

He finished in the top six in the drivers' championship for five years, in-a-row, twice finishing fourth, and had six race wins.

8. Alain Prost - $100 million: Prost is one of the all time greats of the sport, with the Frenchman competing from 1981 until 1983.

During his 12 years in the sport he won the drivers' world title on four occasions and was embroiled in an incredible rivalry with one time teammate Ayrton Senna.

Having held the record for most wins as a driver, until Michael Schumacher surpassed him, Prost also ran his own F1 team for a number of years.

Prost is an all time great. Image: Alamy

7. Eddie Irvine - $120 million: Irvine raced in Formula One between 1993 and 2002, and came close to winning the world title in 1999 – eventually finishing second behind Mika Hakkinen.

Irvine spent much of his time at Ferrari as the second driver to Michael Schumacher, helping the German to win races on his way to world titles.

6. Sebastian Vettel - $140 million: Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 season, having spent 15 years in the sport with Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin.

He won four consecutive drivers titles with Red Bull and ended up with 53 race wins, the third highest of all time, and is still the youngest ever driver to win a race in F1.

His surprise lead during this year's US Grand Prix meant he finished with 3501 led laps during his amazing career.

5. Jenson Button - $150 million: Button raced for 17 years before hanging up his gloves at the end of the 2017 season.

He is best known for winning the title in 2009 with Brawn GP, winning six of the seven opening races, after the team bought from Honda just ahead of the season starting.

Now does television work as well as working for Williams as an advisor.

Button's title in 2009 was a shock. Image: Alamy

4. Kimi Raikkonen - $250 million: The Finnish 'Iceman' had a very impressive 20 year career and won the drivers title in 2007 for Ferrari, which remains the Italians' most recent success.

Has also competed in 21 races in the Rally World Championships and NASCAR during his racing career. In 2022 he was named the team principal of the Kawasaki Racing Team for the 2022 season of the Motocross World Championship.

3. Fernando Alonso - $260 million: A two time world champion with Renault, Alonso probably should have even more titles to his name.

At 41, and with the most starts in the sports history, the Spanish driver is still going strong, and continued his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton this year with some harsh criticism of the Brit.

In 2022 he earned his first podium in eight years and next season Alonso will be driving for Aston Martin, after Alpine were only willing to give him a one year deal.

2. Lewis Hamilton - $285 million: The seven time world champion is potentially the greatest of all time and the best well known of his generation.

It wasn't a good year for Mercedes or Hamilton and it actually ended up being the first season of his career that he didn't manage to win a race.

Exploits in music and fashion, as well as a vegan restaurant chain have certainly helped with his wealth and his high profile has boosted the sports popularity.

Hamilton's earning power will not have waned despite his bad year. Image: Alamy

1. Michael Schumacher - $600 million: The data says that Hamilton's wealth is massively dwarfed by the earnings of the man who shares the record for most drivers' titles won.

Perhaps the only man who can challenge Hamilton for the title of greatest ever, although some might argue that too, Schumacher won five of his titles back-to-back for Ferrari and holds multiple records in the sport.

Sadly he has not been seen or heard from since suffering a severe brain injury whilst skiing in 2013, following his second retirement from F1.

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