Formula One teams’ race for costly drivers highlights their value

Formula One’s driver market merry-go-round is often known as the “silly season”, but this year it has been sillier and earlier than ever before.

“The driver market exploded in April — and, normally, no one talks in April,” observed Red Bull’s motorsport adviser Helmut Marko early that month.

The trigger for the rush was Lewis Hamilton’s decision to go early, in February, by announcing that he would leave Mercedes at the end of the year to join Ferrari.

This, in effect, opened up a top-line cockpit that many had thought closed — and also meant that race-winning Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz suddenly needed a new team.

The picture became still murkier a few weeks later, amid the fallout over an investigation into alleged inappropriate behaviour by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner towards a female employee. Horner denied the allegations and was cleared by an investigation conducted by a barrister at the company’s request. But his accuser appealed against the decision.

The situation made world champion Max Verstappen’s future with Red Bull uncertain, despite him appearing to be locked in until the end of 2028. Last week, however, he confirmed that he would stay for 2025.

Even so, the wider driver market had already been stirred up by Sauber’s new owner, Audi, seeking to get ahead with its driver choices, and stressing that it intended to be a “player” in the market rather than a spectator. That meant pushing for its key targets — Sainz and Haas’s Nico Hülkenberg (the latter now confirmed) — to commit early, to help Sauber attract the top technical staff the team believes are needed to move up the grid.

In turn, Sauber’s eagerness to get decisions from that duo forced other teams and drivers to make calls.

Red Bull had to weigh up whether to stick with Sergio Peréz or try for Sainz but, in the end, the team went for continuity. Sainz then appeared to hold out for as long as possible for Mercedes (which seemed in no rush to resolve the situation), and also found himself courted by Williams.

The market went into overdrive, with other drivers nervous about losing out — especially with the anticipated arrival from F2 of rookie Oliver Bearman (aged 19 and signed this week by Haas), who could be followed by Andrea Kimi Antonelli (aged 17 and poised to step up to F1 for Mercedes).

This battle for drivers comes against the backdrop of a very close F1 grid where talent is more important than ever, as losing a couple of tenths of seconds because someone substandard is in the cockpit is unacceptable.

That is why Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the kind of wages commanded by the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton — in the region of $60mn-$70mn — are not ludicrous.

“Drivers are very good value,” Wolff says. “Put a great driver in a car, it will make all the difference, especially in a field where between P1 and P15 is six or eight tenths [of a second per lap].”

While the advantages of a driver can be judged on the impact they might have on positions in the constructors’ championship — where each place is worth roughly $10mn — the benefits potentially extend far beyond that.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown says: “I don’t think there’s any prize money economics that kind of justify the jump [in prize money alone from a higher salary]. But you get more sponsorship the more successful you are. You also get to recruit the best talent, because people want to go to the best team.”

At a time when teams are mindful of every dollar spent because of F1’s cost cap — which mainly limits spending on car performance — driver salaries are growing. This has put power in the hands of the drivers and their managers, and means salaries are unrestrained as the value of the top stars increases.

“I think it’s going to drive up driver salaries, because you have some teams that appear to have an unlimited cheque book,” notes Brown.

But top drivers’ spiralling wages may yet risk pricing them out of the market if teams feel that they can achieve as much with a rising star, who would come much cheaper.

Rookies such as Oscar Piastri — who are likely to be earning less than $10mn per season — are a bargain compared with some more established star drivers, who earn four or five times that much.

The dilemma of paying for a superstar or picking a youngster is one Mercedes faces for next year, as it edges closer to promoting its junior star Antonelli from F2 to replace Hamilton. The difficulty of making that kind of decision is eased by the fact that the team appears unlikely to be in contention for the title.

The dilemma of paying for a superstar or picking a youngster is one Mercedes faces for next year

Wolff says: “When you look at the Mercedes situation, I think we can go for the rookie because, as it stands, we’re not fighting for championship, and the chances of doing that in ’25 are — if you’re realistic — pretty slim. So that can be an environment [where] a young driver can be educated for the future. The argument on the flip side is you want to have an experienced driver that can help you catch up quicker, because he will know how the car should drive.”

While there is potential for top wages to exceed $100mn in the next few years, one driver manager — who did not want to be named — insists there is value in paying a high price.

“On civvy street, it’s bonkers levels but, when you look at the impact Lewis has had on Ferrari’s profile, and what Max has done with Red Bull consistently, it would be hugely costly to miss out on all those victory shots and incredible images going forward,” the driver manager says.

“The teams see all the numbers and they are comfortable to sign the cheque,” he adds. “They don’t have a gun to their head — you sign the contract because that’s the number they are expected to pay.”