Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.
Motorsports salaries are often shrouded in a veil of secrecy. Driver earnings are typically composed of a salary, performance bonuses for race wins, sponsorship deals - and in some cases, other racing-related income.
11. Brad Keselowski makes an estimated $11.2 million (€10.0 million)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Team: Team Penske
Keselowski won the 2012 Cup championship and has won 30 victories in the premier NASCAR series so far — with three wins in 2019 alone.
10. Kevin Harvick makes an estimated $13.8 million (€12.3 million)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
Harvick won his first Cup championship in 2014 and has 45 wins in the premier series so far. Although he won eight races in 2018, he has yet to win a race in 2019.
9. Denny Hamlin makes an estimated $14.6 million (€13.0 million)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Hamlin hasn't won a championship in the premier series yet, but has won a career total of 33 races so far — including 2 in 2019 alone.
8. Kyle Busch makes an estimated $14.7 million (€13.1 million)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Busch won the 2015 Cup championship and holds a total of 55 Cup wins throughout his career. According to the NASCAR organization, that's second only to Jimmie Johnson among current drivers in the series.
7. Daniel Ricciardo makes an estimated $15.0 million (€13.4 million)
Series: Formula 1
Team: Renault
Ricciardo came up through the Red Bull junior team and spent several years with the main Red Bull Racing team in Formula One. Over his career thus far, he's amassed 7 race wins and 29 podiums.
In 2018, Ricciardo announced that he was leaving Red Bull to join the Renault team — a move examined closely in the Netflix limited series "Formula One: Drive to Survive."
Notably, in addition to fielding its own racing team, Renault had provided engines to the Red Bull Racing team through 2018 — when Red Bull announced that it was switching engine manufacturers to Honda. This made Ricciardo's choice all the more complicated.
6. Max Verstappen makes an estimated $16.0 million (€14.3 million)
Series: Formula 1
Team: Red Bull Racing Honda
Verstappen currently holds the record of being the youngest-ever F1 competitor, starting his career at the top tier of motorsport at the wizened age of 17. He's also the youngest-ever racer in the series to score points and win races — so far, he's won 5, but no championships yet.
5. Marc Márquez makes $15-18 million (€13-16 million)
Series: MotoGP
Team: Repsol Honda
MotoGP is considered the top tier of global motorcycle racing — but despite this fact, motorcycle racers even at this level typically do not command the salaries of their auto racing counterparts.
So far in his career, he's won 47 races in MotoGP — and 5 world championships. He's currently in first place in the 2019 championship standings.
4. Jimmie Johnson makes an estimated $19.2 million (€17.1 million)
Series: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Johnson is a seven-time Cup champion — holding the record for most-ever series championships with the rarified likes of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.
He's had 83 career wins thus far — but none yet in 2019.
3. Valentino Rossi makes $25-40 million (€22-36 million)
Series: MotoGP
Team: Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Rossi is MotoGP's elder statesman — but just because he's been in the game the longest doesn't mean he's slowed down.
In fact, that's part of why his earnings are so high — in addition to racing for the Yamaha factory team, he also runs his own VR46 junior team that competes in the series, reported SuperBikePlanet editor Dean Adams.
Rossi's career is legendary in the series, with a total of 7 world championships and a staggering 89 career wins thus far at the MotoGP level.
2. Sebastian Vettel makes an estimated $30.0 million (26.8 million)
Series: Formula 1
Team: Ferrari
Vettel has won 52 races in F1, many of which were with Red Bull — where he started his top-tier racing career. He's also won a total of four world championships.