2008 driver salaries

[Dare]

source---Auto Sport and Car


01. Fernando Alonso $28m
02. Kimi Raikkonen $22m
03. Jenson Button $16m
04. Felipe Massa $12m
05. Nick Heidfeld $11m
06. Rubens Barrichello $9m
07. Mark Webber $7.5m
08. Jarno Trulli $6.5m
09=. Lewis Hamilton $5m
09=. Nico Rosberg $5m
09=. David Coulthard $5m
12. Giancarlo Fisichella $3m
13=. Heikki Kovalainen $2.5m
13=. Takuma Sato $2.5m
15=. Robert Kubica $2m
15=. Sebastien Bourdais $2m
15=. Timo Glock $2m
18=. Anthony Davidson $1.5m
18=. Nelson Piquet $1.5m
18=. Sebastian Vettel $1.5m
21=. Kazuki Nakajima $1m
21=. Adrian Sutil $1m

[Scott]

no way is Kimi making less than Ferd...there's got to be something else off the books

[raindancer]

Last year in this same forum , I recollect that Kimi was getting close to $ 40 M.

[Steven Roy]

Those figures are miles out.  Kimi has always been said to be on between $41 and 51 million.  Alonso is now meant to be on $40 million.  There are quite a few others I don't believe either.

[cosworth151]

I think those numbers are the drivers' published base pay. They don't include bonuses for points, podiums, wins, fast laps, ect. They also don't include endorsement money.

[Alianora La Canta]

I thought Fisi was announced as being on €400,000 this year. I know the euro's strengthened a bit since that announcement, but it hasn't strengthened that much!

[John S]

I think these figures are just the base elements for some drivers but for others will be nearer their total pay. If Autosport just posed a simple question to all the teams the replies will vary on the interpretation the team puts on the question, and also what they are happy divulge.

On Kimi's pay this may be more accurate than would seem the case, he was not a champion before signing to Ferrari and he would not be the first to accept less wages to get into a car they believe will make them a champ. At the time Kimi signed it was not certain that Michael was retiring and plenty of the other drivers would have bitten Todt's hand off if offered the drive in a shiny red car.

Alonso on the other hand will have insisted on a fat fee as he has little chance this season of getting any silverware let alone the big one.

The real suprise for me is the enormous sums the Honda boys appear to be on. The amounts shown for them can't possibly include big win or place bonuses, or can they?

 Yes this really is a tricky list that Autosport has offered us, to be sure!