Sebastian Vettel’s F1 salary 29 times more than Daniel Ricciardo: report

THE 2014 Formula 1 driver salaries have been revealed and, boy, don’t they make Daniel Ricciardo look like a bargain?

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - JULY 27: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Infiniti Red Bull Racing celebrates victory on the podium after the Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix at Hungaroring on July 27, 2014 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Drew Gibson/Getty Images)

THE 2014 Formula 1 driver salaries have been revealed and, boy, don’t they make Daniel Ricciardo look good.

According to figures from Business Book GP2014, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel earns an enormous $31.7 million annual wage from Red Bull, compared to his teammate Ricciardo’s $1.1 million. That’s Aussie dollars.

If you break it down, Vettel earns almost 29 times as much as Ricciardo, yet the young Aussie is sitting above him on the driver standings.

Ricciardo is third in the 2014 drivers’ championship on 131 points, with the struggling Vettel in sixth on 88 points.

It means Vettel costs Red Bull $360,000 for each championship point — 43 times more than the $8,396 a point for Ricciardo.

In fact, if you revise this year’s championship standings (just like we did below) to reflect the most valuable driver in terms of cost per point, Ricciardo is the clear No. 1. Williams’ Valtteri Bottas ($15,000) and McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen ($39,000) round out the top three.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for the cost-per-point F1 championship standings

Daniel Ricciardo earns a reported $1.1m salary compared to his Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel’s $31.7m.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen is setting his team back an astronomical $1.17 million per point, but the worst of all is Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado who earns $4.3 million a year and is yet to register a single point for Lotus.

Vettel and Ferrari pair Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso share the honour of being the highest paid drivers in F1, all on a reported salary of $31.7 million.

Lewis Hamilton is next best on $28.8 million, while his championship-leading Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg ranks sixth at $17.3 million.

The lowest paid drivers in Formula One are Caterham teammates Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson, who both earn $216,000.

Ricciardo is ranked at 15th on this list but it is worth taking into consideration that these figures relate to one specific report.

The Business Book GP2014 is an independent publication that has featured the results of studies of the business of Formula 1 for the past five years.

Its figures vary considerably from a report in The Australian Financial Review earlier this year, which listed Ricciardo’s salary at an estimated base of $3.65 million.

Even then, Ricciardo would be worth $28,000 a point — 13 times less than Vettel — and still good enough for second on the revised standings.

Ricciardo on his way to victory at the Canadian Grand Prix.

2014 FORMULA 1 DRIVER SALARIES

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull): $31.7 million

2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari): $31.7m

3. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): $31.7m

4. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): $28.8m

5. Jenson Button (McLaren): $23.1m

6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes): $17.3m

7. Felipe Massa (Williams): $5.8m

8. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India): $5.8m

9. Romain Grosjean (Lotus): $4.3m

10. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus): $4.3m

11. Sergio Perez (Force India): $4.3m

12. Adrian Sutil (Sauber): $2.9m

13. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren): $1.44m

14. Valtteri Bottas (Williams): $1.44m

15. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull): $1.1m

16. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso): $1.1m

17. Jules Bianchi (Marussia): $720,000

18. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber): $577,000

19. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): $360,000

20. Max Chilton (Marussia): $290,000

21. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham): $216,000

22. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham): $216,000

Kimi Raikkonen is proving expensive for Ferrari.

2014 FORMULA 1 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes): 202 points

2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 191 points

3. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull): 131 points

4. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari): 115 points

5. Valtteri Bottas (Williams): 95 points

6. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull): 88 points

7. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India): 69 points

8. Jenson Button (McLaren): 60 points

9. Felipe Massa (Williams): 40 points

10. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren): 37 points

11. Sergio Perez (Force India): 29 points

12. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): 27 points

13. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso): 11 points

14. Romain Grosjean (Lotus): 8 points

15. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): 6 points

16. Jules Bianchi (Marussia): 2 points

17. Adrian Sutil (Sauber): 0 points

18. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham): 0 points

19. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus): 0 points

20. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber): 0 points

21. Max Chilton (Marussia): 0 points

22. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham): 0 points

Championship leader Nico Rosberg of Germany and Mercedes misses out on the top five in the revised standings.

REVISED 2014 FORMULA 1 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

(Most valuable in terms of cost per point)

1. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull): $8,396 per point

2. Valtteri Bottas (Williams): $15,000

3. Kevin Magnussen (McLaren): $39,000

4. Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso): $48,000

5. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India): $84,000

6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes): $86,000

7. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso): $100,000

8. Felipe Massa (Williams): $145,000

9. Sergio Perez (Force India): $148,000

10. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): $151,000

11. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari): $276,000

12. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull): $360,000

13. Jules Bianchi (Marussia): $360,000

14. Jenson Button (McLaren): $385,000

15. Romain Grosjean (Lotus): $537,000

16. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari): $1.17 million

17. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham): $216,000 for no points

18. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham): $216,000 for no points

19. Max Chilton (Marussia): $290,000 for no points

20. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber): $577,000 for no points

21. Adrian Sutil (Sauber): $2.9m for no points

22. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus): $4.3m for no points