When you are one of the world’s most talented Formula One drivers no one is surprised that you earn the big bucks. The teams spend ludicrous amounts just to get a car or two on the track so what’s a couple of million more for an ace behind the wheel, right?

Even taking that into consideration, world champion Lewis Hamilton’s pay packet, which he looks set to sign off on this week, is rather mouth-watering. According to Hamilton, the deal is all but done and once he signs on the dotted line he will be laughing all the way to the bank. This from BBC:

…Hamilton, who joined Mercedes in 2013 after six years with McLaren, will earn about the same as he did under his first contract with the German team – a basic salary, paid in US dollars, of $31m (£20.9m) plus extensive bonuses.

Depending on how many races he wins, and whether he becomes world champion, these bonuses could easily take his annual earnings well over $40m (£27m).

Let’s now do that dreaded ‘pounds to rands’ conversion shall we? One pound will currently net you R18 so that £3 082 per hour equates to a cool R55 476. Heads up – don’t work out what you earn per hour, it will only serve to raise the blood pressure.

The really scary bit is that this deal isn’t at all out of line with that of what other leading drivers are earning. The BBC again:

[Fernando] Alonso is being paid $40m a year by McLaren and Honda for the duration of the three-year deal he has signed, which runs until 2017.

[Sebastian] Vettel will earn a one-off $50m (£33.7m) in his first season with Ferrari in 2015 but less after that, according to senior sources.

I would love to see some of our local taxi guys behind the wheel of an F1 supercar, I’m sure they wouldn’t have a problem overtaking on corners.

If you don’t possess the necessary driving skills but would still like to live in the lap of luxury all hope is not lost. Tonight’s EuroMillions draw could net you a cool R1 billion, which is just about enough money to get Nicole Scherzinger on your arm we hear.

[source:bbc]