Alonso's £24m salary dwarfs entire grid

Thursday 31st May 2012, 17:55 by Ryan Wood 

Lots to smile about, Alonso leads the championship and the salary table. (© Ferrari)

Fernando Alonso easily tops the driver salary table with a wage almost double that of his nearest rivals, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Ferrari pay out £24 million to the Spaniard each year compared to just £8 million for his team-mate Felipe Massa.

The McLaren duo are both on £12.8 million each, though a reported contract extension for Hamilton would increase that to almost £20 million, comfortably putting him second highest and just below Alonso.

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are the big gainers, having jumped from reported salaries of £3.4 million and £1.6 million in 2010 to £8 million apiece in 2012.

One of the biggest surprises is that of team-mates Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta. The former earns £400,000 per annum compared to the Scot who's the second lowest paid on the grid at just £160,000.

Note, these salaries don't include personal sponsorship and bonuses which can stretch into many millions. The figures are based on accurate estimates.

Reported driver salaries according to Business Book GP:

#DriverTeam£€$ 
01. F. Alonso Ferrari 24m 30m 37m
02. L. Hamilton McLaren 12.8m 16m 19.77m
03. J. Button McLaren 12.8m 16m 19.77m
04. S. Vettel Red Bull 8m 10m 12.3m
05. M. Webber Red Bull 8m 10m 12.3m
06. F. Massa Ferrari 8m 10m 12.3m
07. N. Rosberg Mercedes 8m 10m 12.3m
08. M. Schumacher Mercedes 6.4m 8m 9.9m
09. K. Raikkonen Lotus 4m 5m 6.18m
10. H. Kovalainen Caterham 3.2m 4m 4.94m
11. T. Glock Marussia 2.4m 3m 3.7m
12. K. Kobayashi Sauber 800,000 1m 1.23m
13. R. Grosjean Lotus 800,000 1m 1.23m
14. N. Hulkenberg Force India 400,000 500,000 618,000
15. S. Perez Sauber 400,000 500,000 618,000
16. V. Petrov Caterham 400,000 500,000 618,000
17. P. de la Rosa HRT 400,000 500,000 618,000
18. J. Vergne Toro Rosso 320,000 400,000 495,000
19. D. Ricciardo Toro Rosso 320,000 400,000 495,000
20. P. Maldonado Williams 320,000 400,000 495,000
21. B. Senna Williams 200,000 250,000 309,000
22. N. Karthikeyan HRT 200,000 250,000 309,000
23. P. di Resta Force India 160,000 200,000 247,000
24. C. Pic Marussia 120,000 150,000 185,000

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