Formula One driver’s extravagant salaries- Ferrari’s Alonso tops the pay roll, followed by McLaren’s Hamilton and ex Ferrari racer Raikkonen
Although Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen bid farewell to the Formula One circuits in late 2009, switching to the World Rally Championship, he has managed to remain the third highest-salaried driver in Formula One. The ex-Ferrari racer is yet benefiting from his former team’s bumper pay-offs. Raikkonen, who won the Formula One world championship title in 2007, after taking the motor sporting scene by storm, will collect an annual pay check worth 13.1 million Pounds this year. Meanwhile, Formula One paddocks have been rife with speculation the Scandinavian sensation, widely touted as the fastest driver in the world, will make a comeback to the sport for the 2011 season. However, the man widely regarded as “The Iceman” for his incredibly cool and collected demeanour has yet to speak definitively on his future Formula One plans.
Meanwhile, the man who tops the pay roll is Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. The two times Formula One world champion will bag a staggering 24.6 million Pounds worth salary this season. The Spaniard is one of the five drivers vying for this year’s driver’s title and stands at the fifth spot in the current championship standings. Alonso found himself at the centre of much controversy recently after Ferrari were found guilty of resorting to the banned practice of issuing team orders at the 2010 German Grand Prix. Alonso’s Brazilian team mate, Felipe Massa, was leading the field in Hockenheim, was ordered to slow down to pave the way for Alonso’s victory. The move provoked widespread criticism from Formula One fans worldwide, and the Italian team is in for some serious grilling by the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) when the body convenes later this year to pass its verdict over the matter.
Trailing Alonso on the salary standings is McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. The Englishman will reportedly collect 13.1 million Pounds for his 2010 exploits, approximately the same amount that Raikkonen will earn this year. Hamilton, who has so far won two Grand Prix’s this season, currently stands at the second spot in the championship standings, at just four points behind the leader, Mark Webber. The Englishman has recently found himself paying the price for McLaren’s recent dip in form relative to the ever improving Red Bull RB6 and Ferrari F10 machines. The MP4-25s were unable to match the speed of the RB6s and F10s in the past couple of campaigns, causing Hamilton to relinquish the championship lead to Red Bulls Mark Webber and enabling Ferrari to close in on the point’s deficit.
Fourth on the list is Ferrari’s Felipe Massa at a pay slip worth 11.5 million Pounds this year. Massa is slowly beginning to rediscover winning form after suffering life-threatening injuries at last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The Brazilian made his comeback to the grid at the start of the 2010 season, assuring everyone that although the mishap had changed his outlook towards life, he was still very much the same driver. What would have been a very well deserved victory for Massa at the 2010 German Grand Prix was usurped by Ferrari’s resort to team orders. Massa’s race engineer, Rod Smedley, was heard issuing a veiled message to his driver, ordering him to slow down so that Fernando Alonso could win the Hockenheim trophy instead. The move has since led many to regard Massa as the clear number-two driver at Ferrari, an allegation that has been since refuted by the Scuderia managing elite.
Behind Massa stands Hamilton’s McLaren team mate, Jenson Button, at 7.4 million Pounds. Having spent nearly a decade at the top of the Formula One pay sheets, seven times world champion, Michael Schumacher, will have to accept a much reduced salary for his 2010 comeback season with Mercedes GP. The German is set to receive Pounds 6.6 million for his struggle this year, whereas his team mate, Nico Rosberg, looks on course to receiving a similar sum. Rosberg has consistently outpaced his veteran team mate this season, adding to Schumacher’s frustrations upon his return to the Formula One grid after an absence of three years.
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