Hamilton signed a two-year deal with Mercedes last summer with a break option after the first season, which he has decided to activate in order to join Ferrari in 2025. His current deal with the German outfit reportedly includes a salary of around £43million per season, making him one of the highest-paid drivers in the sport’s history.
Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday, Alonso teased Russell over Hamilton’s wage packet while discussing the respective budgets of teams in F1.
“We are more sophisticated in this sport, with £200m budgets per team a year and things like that,” began Alonso, before Russell interjected: “Our budget is £135m, I don’t know if you knew that.” Alonso quickly replied: “Yeah, but you have a very expensive driver alongside you, so it’s more than £200m probably for Mercedes with your team-mate!”
Hamilton is reportedly set to receive a significant pay rise when he officially joins Ferrari in 2025. His multi-year deal with the Italian team is said to be worth around £78.8m per season, taking into account his basic salary as well as image rights, sponsorship agreements and bonuses.
The 39-year-old’s contract with Ferrari is thought to be a two-year deal, keeping him at the team throughout 2025 and 2026 with the option for an extra year. Ferrari president John Elkann is also said to have assured Hamilton that his activism and charitable causes will be supported by the team during his spell on their books.
Hamilton previously explained that he chose to join Ferrari in order to fulfil a ‘childhood dream’ of his, saying: “I feel incredibly fortunate, after achieving things with Mercedes that I could only have dreamed of as a kid, that I now have the chance to fulfil another childhood dream. Driving in Ferrari red.
“I still remember the feeling of taking a leap of faith into the unknown when I first joined Mercedes in 2013. I know some people didn’t understand it at the time, but I was right to make the move then and it’s the feeling I have again now. I’m excited to see what I can bring to this new opportunity and what we can do together.”
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