140 replies to this topic

[MustangSally]

In an interview with GQ magazine, Max Mosley has said that F1 drivers earn too much.

 

In fact, he said the salaries were absurd. 

 

According to Max, the drivers are 'not really bothered about what they earn, only their salaries in relation to other drivers'.

 

Well, they don't need the money, do they?

 

Anyway, how absurd are these salaries. A bit of googling got me to the Top 10 Richest F1 Drivers Revealed

 

Figures released by Wealth X, financial intelligence experts, suggest Schumacher’s estimated net worth is a huge 780 million dollars (£527 million), which represents 43% of the combined wealth of all ten men featured on the list.

 

1. Michael Schumacher $780 million (£527 million)

2. Fernando Alonso $220 million (£148 million)

3. Kimi Raikkonen $180 million (£121 million)

4. Eddie Irvine $180 million (£121 million)

5. Lewis Hamilton $110 million (£74 million)

6. Jenson Button $100 million (£67 million)

7. Alan Prost $70 million (£47 million)

8. David Coulthard $70 million (£47 million)

9. Sebastian Vettel $45 million (£30 million)

10. Nico Rosberg $30 million (£20 million)

 

 

Not all of them are driving and three were never World Champions, so perhaps it's a rather lame claim?

[Clatter]

He's not wrong, but it applies to many sports these days.

[Gyno]

There should be a salary cap but it would not include personal sponsors.

Teams should only pay max 2 mil a year for a driver but he/she could then have personal sponors.

[MustangSally]

 

Teams should only pay max 2 mil a year for a driver

 

 

Hmmmm. So, it's OK if Maldonado pays a team 30m to drive, or Nasr 10m . . . . but someone who needs to earn money should only get 2m?

[Marklar]

• Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) $50 million (£33.4m) guaranteed in first year, Basic $30m a year plus bonuses afterward
• Fernando Alonso (McLaren) Max $40 million a year including all bonuses 
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) $31 million a year (£20.9m) basic salary plus performance bonuses upto $10m a year
• Kimi Raikonen (Ferrari) Max $26 million a year including all bonuses
• Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) $14.8 million a year plus bonuses
• Janson Button (McLaren) $11.6 million a year (£8m a year)
• Felipe Massa (Williams) $4.45 million a year (£3m)
• Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) $4 million a year (£2.75m)
• Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) $3.71 million a year (£2.5m)
• Sergio Perez (Force India) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m)
• Romain Grosjean (Lotus) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m)
• Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m)
• Valtteri Bottas (Williams) $1.1 million a year (£750,000)
• Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) $750k a year
• Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) $512k a year
• Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) $370k a year
• Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) $185k a year
• Felipe Nasr  (Sauber) $185k a year

http://www.totalspor...river-salaries/

 

It's obvious that the teams with low budgets are paying low salaries and the teams with high budgets paying high salaries. I don't see a problem.

 

Mosley suggested that there should be a cost cap and then the teams should decide how they want to distrubute the money: more for drivers or more for the car development? I can tell you how the solution at Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull would be: they would spend 100 % on the car development. And the drivers would be payed as an brand ambassador by the company. The underdogs have no company behind them so they have to spend an part of the budget on the drivers.

 

The teams of the drivers who are overpayed have no financial issue and if Mercedes for example would replace Rosberg with Bottas they wouldn't loose anything, they would even save money. Mosley suggestest that the drivers are playing such a big role that it is a big difference if you have an driver with an salarie of $30 Mio and an driver with $5 Mio (aquivalent to an the advantage of spending $30 Mio on the car development or just $5 Mio), but this isn't the case. The difference is Marketing and that have nothing to do with racing. It's not like replacing Messi at Barcelona....

 

We need a cost cap excluding the personal costs.

Edited by Marklar, 01 June 2015 - 19:46.

[TimRTC]

There should be a salary cap but it would not include personal sponsors.

Teams should only pay max 2 mil a year for a driver but he/she could then have personal sponors.

 

Why?

 

If teams are making money and want to hold on to their drivers, why shouldn't they pay them what they deem to be a fair wage.

 

Remember, drivers are not just contracted to 20 races a year, they spend most days at the tracks or team bases and most if not all F1 drivers are contractually barred from competing in other series so their only revenue is their F1 salary/personal sponsor money.

 

If a footballer like Lionel Messi can get €20 million a year for what he does, surely a racing driver who literally puts their life on the line every other weekend should be paid considerably more.

[Jamiednm]

I've never had a problem with F1 driver salaries for two main reasons:

1. There are only a handful of genuine world class drivers who could be a contender for F1 wins and championships, so the very highest rated rightly come at a premium.

2. Companies like Mercedes and Ferrari see the value in paying massive salaries to drivers who can make a significant difference to their team performance and to the marketing of their road cars.

In stark contrast, I think the salaries that professional footballers get are ludicrous. There are literally hundreds of Premier League footballers, many of them mediocre, who get paid millions a year from money generated by fans who subscribe to expensive TV packages and high gate costs. While there is a small element of this in F1, it is nowhere near the levels of football, and Lewis Hamilton's contract wouldn't cone from a portion of circuit receipts, but Daimlers marketing budget.

[Loops]

If the sport generates billions, why shouldn't they get these sums? It's what they're worth within that market. I say the same for all sports.

[Clatter]

Hmmmm. So, it's OK if Maldonado pays a team 30m to drive, or Nasr 10m . . . . but someone who needs to earn money should only get 2m?

You do realise that it's the sponsors who pay that fee and not the driver personally.

[Clatter]

 

• Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) $50 million (£33.4m) guaranteed in first year, Basic $30m a year plus bonuses afterward
• Fernando Alonso (McLaren) Max $40 million a year including all bonuses 
• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) $31 million a year (£20.9m) basic salary plus performance bonuses upto $10m a year
• Kimi Raikonen (Ferrari) Max $26 million a year including all bonuses
• Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) $14.8 million a year plus bonuses
• Janson Button (McLaren) $11.6 million a year (£8m a year)
• Felipe Massa (Williams) $4.45 million a year (£3m)
• Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) $4 million a year (£2.75m)
• Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) $3.71 million a year (£2.5m)
• Sergio Perez (Force India) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m)
• Romain Grosjean (Lotus) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m)
• Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) $3.2 million a year (£2.2m)
• Valtteri Bottas (Williams) $1.1 million a year (£750,000)
• Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) $750k a year
• Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) $512k a year
• Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) $370k a year
• Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) $185k a year
• Felipe Nasr  (Sauber) $185k a year

http://www.totalspor...river-salaries/

 

It's obvious that the teams with low budgets are paying low salaries and the teams with high budgets paying high salaries. I don't see a problem.

 

Mosley suggested that there should be a cost cap and then the teams should decide how they want to distrubute the money: more for drivers or more for the car development? I can tell you how the solution at Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull would be: they would spend 100 % on the car development. And the drivers would be payed as an brand ambassador by the company. The underdogs have no company behind them so they have to spend an part of the budget on the drivers.

 

The teams of the drivers who are overpayed have no financial issue and if Mercedes for example would replace Rosberg with Bottas they wouldn't loose anything, they would even save money. Mosley suggestest that the drivers are playing such a big role that it is a big difference if you have an driver with an salarie of $30 Mio and an driver with $5 Mio (aquivalent to an the advantage of spending $30 Mio on the car development or just $5 Mio), but this isn't the case. The difference is Marketing and that have nothing to do with racing. It's not like replacing Messi at Barcelona....

 

We need a cost cap excluding the personal costs.

 

The problem is that ultimately it's the paying fan that pays the price.

[mclarensmps]

If the sport generates billions, why shouldn't they get these sums? It's what they're worth within that market. I say the same for all sports.

 

If the sport is generating billions, then they should make it more accessible to the fans. 

[sabjit]

I notice there was total silence on this topic, then Hamilton gets a contract renewal, now its hot discussion...

 

 

F1 is significantly more dangerous than most other sports and I imagine has a very high participant to fatality ratio. As Japan last year showed us, the dangers have no gone away, and during the 2007 race at Fuji I remember Martin Brundle saying this:

 

"If you ever thought that F1 drivers were overpaid, change your mind right now. This is supreme sporting skill and bravery going on here this afternoon. 205mph and you cannot even see your own dashboard. All of your sensors are on hyper mode, your eyes are on stalks, you're listening for when the guy in front lifts the throttle pedal."

[Clatter]

I notice there was total silence on this topic, then Hamilton gets a contract renewal, now its hot discussion...

 

 

F1 is significantly more dangerous than most other sports and I imagine has a very high participant to fatality ratio. As Japan last year showed us, the dangers have no gone away, and during the 2007 race at Fuji I remember Martin Brundle saying this:

 

"If you ever thought that F1 drivers were overpaid, change your mind right now. This is supreme sporting skill and bravery going on here this afternoon. 205mph and you cannot even see your own dashboard. All of your sensors are on hyper mode, your eyes are on stalks, you're listening for when the guy in front lifts the throttle pedal."

The ratio is very low and there are far more fatalities in much "safer" sports. 

[Jon83]

I notice there was total silence on this topic, then Hamilton gets a contract renewal, now its hot discussion...

 

 

F1 is significantly more dangerous than most other sports and I imagine has a very high participant to fatality ratio. As Japan last year showed us, the dangers have no gone away, and during the 2007 race at Fuji I remember Martin Brundle saying this:

 

"If you ever thought that F1 drivers were overpaid, change your mind right now. This is supreme sporting skill and bravery going on here this afternoon. 205mph and you cannot even see your own dashboard. All of your sensors are on hyper mode, your eyes are on stalks, you're listening for when the guy in front lifts the throttle pedal."

 

 

To be fair, Hamilton's contract has been in the news a lot so no surprise that it has triggered this kind of discussion. It would have been the same had it been any other top driver. 

 

For what its worth, I think the money is outrageous but no more so than many other sports, most notably the salaries that bang average EPL footballers are able to get for sitting on the bench. 

 

I didn't think guys like Hulk, Perez or Grosjean would be on as much as they are. 

[Nonesuch]

Well, they don't need the money, do they?

 

That's irrelevant; this isn't social security.

 

The drivers salaries are indeed ridiculously high, but that is for the teams to decide.

[MikeV1987]

no money no honey

[P123]

The problem is that ultimately it's the paying fan that pays the price.

In what way? The paying fan pays the price in high gate receipts due to the high sanctioning fee charged by FOM (an organisation to which Mosley, the complainant here, flogged the rights of the sport for a snip for 100 years); a fee that they can charge due to the market created by oil kingdoms and governments who can get away with throwing tax payer money at hosting GP.

[P123]

That's irrelevant; this isn't social security.
 
The drivers salaries are indeed ridiculously high, but that is for the teams to decide.

Ridiculously high in comparison to Joe Bloggs in the street, but in the world of professional sport they are on par. It's what the market dictates and is certainly not a new phenomenon in F1.

[MikeV1987]

These guys put in some serious time and effort to be there, if they can milk a company like Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, etc for +30 mil a year then good for them.

Edited by MikeV1987, 01 June 2015 - 21:13.

[Marklar]

I notice there was total silence on this topic, then Hamilton gets a contract renewal, now its hot discussion...

 

 

F1 is significantly more dangerous than most other sports and I imagine has a very high participant to fatality ratio. As Japan last year showed us, the dangers have no gone away, and during the 2007 race at Fuji I remember Martin Brundle saying this:

 

"If you ever thought that F1 drivers were overpaid, change your mind right now. This is supreme sporting skill and bravery going on here this afternoon. 205mph and you cannot even see your own dashboard. All of your sensors are on hyper mode, your eyes are on stalks, you're listening for when the guy in front lifts the throttle pedal."

 

That's why Bernie loves him......

[Clatter]

In what way? The paying fan pays the price in high gate receipts due to the high sanctioning fee charged by FOM (an organisation to which Mosley, the complainant here, flogged the rights of the sport for a snip for 100 years); a fee that they can charge due to the market created by oil kingdoms and governments who can get away with throwing tax payer money at hosting GP.

The drivers get ever increasing fees. The teams demand more money from Bernie to compensate. Bernie passes the cost onto the circuits. The circuits pass the cost onto the paying customer.

[Gyno]

Why?

 

If teams are making money and want to hold on to their drivers, why shouldn't they pay them what they deem to be a fair wage.

 

Remember, drivers are not just contracted to 20 races a year, they spend most days at the tracks or team bases and most if not all F1 drivers are contractually barred from competing in other series so their only revenue is their F1 salary/personal sponsor money.

 

If a footballer like Lionel Messi can get €20 million a year for what he does, surely a racing driver who literally puts their life on the line every other weekend should be paid considerably more.

 

 

Then the team personel should also get millions.

They spend even MORE time at the base and garage, when the drivers are out partying they are stuck there working their asses off.

[MustangSally]

That's irrelevant; this isn't social security.

 

The drivers salaries are indeed ridiculously high, but that is for the teams to decide.

 

I was being sarcastic. 

 

I think the capping here is irrelevant: exactly as you say, teams can decide to pay a driver or not, or have one that pays them. 

 

I don't even find the salaries ridiculous, given the handful of guys who do get paid against the total revenues of the sport.

 

If you look at the 'richest drivers' list, the guys are pretty poor compared to other professions and a lot of that net wealth was made outside F1.

[P123]

The drivers get ever increasing fees. The teams demand more money from Bernie to compensate. Bernie passes the cost onto the circuits. The circuits pass the cost onto the paying customer.

The drivers salaries aren't the driver (ahem!) of what Ecclestone charges the tracks, and therefore what is passed on to fans in terms of ticket prices. They are a consequence of the money floating around at the top of the sport. The salaries for the top drivers actually seem quite stagnant from the days of Senna and Schumacher (and Alesi and Berger- Ferrari always pay over the odds).

[Marklar]

The drivers get ever increasing fees. The teams demand more money from Bernie to compensate. Bernie passes the cost onto the circuits. The circuits pass the cost onto the paying customer.

.....and nobody attends to the races.......

 

10 years ago they had higher salaries but the prices for the tickets where much lower. The teams don't demand more money from Bernie because the drivers want more money, they demand more money because the cost structures (especially of the research and development departmend) increased heavily.

Edited by Marklar, 01 June 2015 - 21:21.

[JHSingo]

F1 is significantly more dangerous than most other sports and I imagine has a very high participant to fatality ratio. As Japan last year showed us, the dangers have no gone away, and during the 2007 race at Fuji I remember Martin Brundle saying this:

 

"If you ever thought that F1 drivers were overpaid, change your mind right now. This is supreme sporting skill and bravery going on here this afternoon. 205mph and you cannot even see your own dashboard. All of your sensors are on hyper mode, your eyes are on stalks, you're listening for when the guy in front lifts the throttle pedal."

 

Without wishing to be accused of sounding insensitive to the Bianchi situation, I think the 'it's dangerous' argument stacks up less and less these days.

 

I'm no fan of football, but you're far more likely to end up with an injury through football than you are racing an F1 car. Particularly when F1 cars are safer than ever, as are the tracks.

Rallying is a dangerous motorsport. Bike racing (on tracks, but much more in road racing) is a dangerous motorsport. Oval racing (particularly in the case of IndyCar) is a dangerous motorsport. Is F1 really that dangerous these days? It's definitely not as dangerous as the three forms of racing I already mentioned.

 

So to use the 'danger money' argument, rally drivers, road racers and IndyCar drivers should be getting a shed load more than F1 drivers.

It is obscene levels of money, but just as in football, it's probably never going to change, so there's really little point in getting wound up about it. Just my two cents.

Edited by JHSingo, 01 June 2015 - 22:06.

[mclarensmps]

These guys put in some serious time and effort to be there, if they can milk a company like Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes, etc for +30 mil a year then good for them.

 

You mean the companies, who in turn will Milk us to pay for their ludicrous wages?

Nah, no thanks. Ain't gettin my vote. 

[Jimisgod]

 

4. Eddie Irvine $180 million (£121 million)

 

How the hell?

[Watkins74]

How the hell?

 

This is supposed to be their net worth not a total of their F1 income.

 

I read an article about 5 years ago on how Irvine made millions and millions in Florida (U.S.A.) real estate. So good for him for making sound investments and not blowing his money.

[BlinkyMcSquinty]

I notice there was total silence on this topic, then Hamilton gets a contract renewal, now its hot discussion...

 

 

F1 is significantly more dangerous than most other sports and I imagine has a very high participant to fatality ratio. As Japan last year showed us, the dangers have no gone away, and during the 2007 race at Fuji I remember Martin Brundle saying this:

 

"If you ever thought that F1 drivers were overpaid, change your mind right now. This is supreme sporting skill and bravery going on here this afternoon. 205mph and you cannot even see your own dashboard. All of your sensors are on hyper mode, your eyes are on stalks, you're listening for when the guy in front lifts the throttle pedal."

 

Racing is dangerous, no argument there. But Formula One is not the only form of racing, each weekend thousands go out in their cars and motorcycles and race. Not for the money, but for the love of racing. All of them are aware that each time they strap in they may not come out alive. And some do not make it. So as far as placing any Formula One driver on a pedestal just because it's Formula One does not work for me.

 

Professional televised racing is entertainment, and just like Lady Gaga, fans pay money to see their star entertain. When you get to the top of the entertainment pyramid, the money flows in. It is market value. And if Formula One was to try to cut driver salaries, then they would get paid a lot less that NASCAR drivers, the top ones pulling in approximately 25 million per year.

[Watkins74]

I notice there was total silence on this topic, then Hamilton gets a contract renewal, now its hot discussion...

 

 

 

 

 

Sure. 30 posts. I notice people never miss an opportunity to play the 'Lewis is a victim' card. Poor Lewis.

[bub]

If the sport generates billions, why shouldn't they get these sums? It's what they're worth within that market. I say the same for all sports.

Exactly this^

They're not getting paid whatever amount for no reason. They're getting paid that amount because they're worth it.

[Loops]

If the sport is generating billions, then they should make it more accessible to the fans. 

 

To make it more accessible and to have drivers commanding large wages, is not mutually exclusive.

[jonpollak]

I don't see LeBron risking his life on the basketball court ...

But yeah..It's all outta whack

 

 

I kinda wish Max would run for office in the UK...But Dad's legacy prevents that.

Shame really as he does echo my sentiments on many issues.

 

私にお金を見せます

Jp

[George Costanza]

Ayrton Senna probably would have out earned Schumacher if he lived, I reckon...

Edited by George Costanza, 02 June 2015 - 04:07.

[George Costanza]

How the hell?

He invest his money in real estate and properties around the world.

[ElJefe]

Ayrton Senna probably would have out earned Schumacher if he lived, I reckon...

I think I read somewhere that Senna around the time of his death was worth almost $400 million. I think most of his wealth went to his family, but adjusted for inflation he would probably be worth more than Schumacher now.

[DS27]

I notice there was total silence on this topic, then Hamilton gets a contract renewal, now its hot discussion...

 

 

Persecution complex alert.

 

 

No, they're not over-paid - at least not in relation to other sports men and women in the crazy world we now live in.

[Jimisgod]

Ricciardo got ripped off bad if that list is for 2015. No wonder he's (allegedly) out shopping for seats.

[LuckyStrike1]

How the hell?

 

 

He was well off already before F1 due to being paid driver in Japan. Then he was well paid in F1 at Ferrari and Jaguar but the major part of his fortune comes from his real estate investments he made during his time in F1 as well as after he retired from F1. Basically he seems to be a smart investor with his money so not that strange. 

[LuckyStrike1]

Ricciardo got ripped off bad if that list is for 2015. No wonder he's (allegedly) out shopping for seats.

 

 

As all Red Bull drivers he's been nicely funded by Red Bull through his career and now he needs to pay that back. Vettel was also on a low retainer when he first started in F1 and joined the Red Bull teams. 

[Jimisgod]

He was well off already before F1 due to being paid driver in Japan. Then he was well paid in F1 at Ferrari and Jaguar but the major part of his fortune comes from his real estate investments he made during his time in F1 as well as after he retired from F1. Basically he seems to be a smart investor with his money so not that strange. 

 

Where is Lauda on the list? He had a whole airline business that got sold for a good price.

[Rocket73]

The problem isn't with the drivers, teams or sponsors. The problem is CAPITALISM. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. F1 driver pay is just an example of how extreme this has become.

 

The only solution is to change the system. Otherwise you may as well be banging you head against the wall.

[LuckyStrike1]

Where is Lauda on the list? He had a whole airline business that got sold for a good price.

 

 

It would seem he is outside top 10 ... 

 

These lists should always be taken with some grains of salt. But I seem to recall Lauda had some financial difficulties with his airline so that could perhaps explain. But you're still quite well off even if you still are outside top 10 on such a list and I don't think it's so accurate because Nelson Piquet for instance is also missing, so is Damon Hill, Mika Häkkinen and Jacques Villeneuve. Especially the latter is very well off. 

[CoolBreeze]

People often critic the amount of salary a sports person make over the course of his/her career, or even year. But why? Getting involved in sports is not easy at all. The mental preparation, sacrifice, etc, it takes helluva lot of dedication, discipline, and of course practice. 

 

Most sports people have a career of less than 15 years, if they are lucky. One major injury, and you will fast become yesterday's news. I play sports, notably badminton and football. It's crazy the amount of time i take to recover from practice and games. The food intake, the sleep, the rest, protein intake...sometimes, it feels like there's no life. 

 

Hence, i never gotten why their salaries get questioned. Not everyone can become a professional sports person. Especially in the case of racing drivers, you career or life, can be over in an instant. 

[P123]

The problem isn't with the drivers, teams or sponsors. The problem is CAPITALISM. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. F1 driver pay is just an example of how extreme this has become.

 

The only solution is to change the system. Otherwise you may as well be banging you head against the wall.

 

But driver pay is the same as it has ever been.  Even back in the early '90s Senna was getting $1m per race and Alesi and Berger in the Ferrari were reputedly on around $10m per season.  I'm sure that's pretty much on par, inflation adjusted..., with what the top drivers receive now.  Team budgets have increased at a greater rate than driver salary, so they are spending silly money on more than drivers.  In fact if you go back to the '90s the teams were probably spending a greater proportion of their budget on driver salary than they are now.

[aramos]

Drivers are no longer just drivers, they're a brand with serious advertising capacity. They know they generate tens of millions a year in Twitter and Instagram advertisement revenue and there is a price that comes with that. Hamilton knows that when he tweets a picture of a Mercedes it earns the company the equivalent of tens of thousands worth of commercials to generate similar exposure.

[aramos]

The problem isn't with the drivers, teams or sponsors. The problem is CAPITALISM. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. F1 driver pay is just an example of how extreme this has become.

 

The only solution is to change the system. Otherwise you may as well be banging you head against the wall.

Is it any wonder they want that type of cash anyway? I mean of course there is no way they're spending that money, but they're creating future wealth for their family. If you can pull in 30 million a year for most of your career you could bring in close to 400 million dollars. Lets say some of it is tax and some of it is play money, you might retire with 200 million in the bank. That is the type of cash that starts dynasties. With some sensible investment your kids will never need to work, their kids will never need to work and probably their kids will never need to work either. That type of cash is the type that grows indefinitely. 

 

So I don't really blame them, it becomes beyond what they need. A lot of these drivers come from fairly average families and have capacity to make their successors rich for indefinite amount of generations.

[CountDooku]

The problem isn't with the drivers, teams or sponsors. The problem is CAPITALISM. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. F1 driver pay is just an example of how extreme this has become.

 

The only solution is to change the system. Otherwise you may as well be banging you head against the wall.

 

Change the system to what exactly?

[Rocket73]

But driver pay is the same as it has ever been.  Even back in the early '90s Senna was getting $1m per race and Alesi and Berger in the Ferrari were reputedly on around $10m per season.  I'm sure that's pretty much on par, inflation adjusted..., with what the top drivers receive now.  Team budgets have increased at a greater rate than driver salary, so they are spending silly money on more than drivers.  In fact if you go back to the '90s the teams were probably spending a greater proportion of their budget on driver salary than they are now.

 

It's hard to find what drivers were getting paid back then but what you say seems to be about right. Seb is getting at least 4 times that now. I am no economist but a factor of 4 in 20 years seems like a lot of inflation. Even if so they are still getting insane money compared with mr average for driving a racing car. I appreciate the level of work that they do and talent as well but really? $50m per year? It's nuts.