If the reports are true - and that's a big "if", considering a previous report on drivers' earning back in March - that means Ferrari are by far the biggest spenders of the 2010 Formula One campaign, as the Scuderia is also paying Kimi Raikkonen for their breach of contract last year. The Finn had one more year of contract with the Scuderia, but Ferrari chose to release him ahead of his time in exchange for a “decent” sum of money, reportedly around EUR17 million.
Returning to Alonso however, to make an idea of how much more he gets than any other driver in the series, know that the second placed driver on that list is Lewis Hamilton, who sits on... EUR16 million per season. The podium is completed by Brazilian Felipe Massa, who makes less than half of what his teammate gets per year, meaning EUR14 million.
Next on the list is reigning Formula One champion Jenson Button, who makes EUR9 million per year, as compared to Michael Schumacher's EUR8 million retainer. The 7-time world champion has an identical contract to his much younger teammate Nico Rosberg's, while Renault's Robert Kubica comes next with EUR7.5 million.
Veteran driver Rubens Barrichello is reportedly being paid EUR5.5 million by Frank Williams. Noticed anything unusual? Well, we did. 2010 title favorites Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, both employed by Red Bull Racing, are far behind their fellow drivers in terms of earnings, the former making only EUR4.4 million and the latter settling for EUR2 million. Bear in mind that Webber is currently leading the championship, while Vettel is placed 3rd in the title fight.
What's even more interesting is that Heikki Kovalainen is paid EUR3 million per season by Lotus F1 Racing, which is more than Vettel, while Virgin's Timo Glock makes EUR1 million in 2010. The rest of the F1 drivers are reportedly making under EUR1 million per year, the lowest salary belonging to HRT F1's Bruno Senna, EUR150,000.
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