Money doesn't buy happiness, they say, but it still contributes greatly to it, while every effort deserves pay, and even more so when your life is at stake. It is difficult to assess how much money a Grand Prix driver earns, because the subject is more compartmentalized than in other sports. With the latter, the risk is lower and the sums much crazier. La Gazzetta dello Sport nevertheless embarked on an estimate, driver by driver, by scanning all the types of income to be taken into account. Because it's not just the salary. There are also bonuses. The same ones that have not yet been decided for the upcoming sprint races for this season…
La Gazzetta dello Sport launched into an estimation of the color and the amount of money that the riders received in MotoGP during the 2022 season. And here is the ranking, with the figures… Last season the highest paid remained Marc Marquez thanks to his five-year contract, valid until the end of 2024 for 12,5 million euros per season. The second in this ranking is a surprise Maverick Vinales whose balance sheet is estimated at up to 10 million. Fabio Quartararo et Joan mir are at 6 million, ahead of the reigning World Champion Pecco Bagnaia who is satisfied with 5 million. Next Pol Espargaro (3,5) Miller, Rins, Morbidelli (3) Johann zarco to 2 million, Alex Marquez et George Martin to 1 million.
Then we descend below this symbolic threshold to linger on Aleix Espargaró (750.000 euros). But the latter had nevertheless admitted to earning 3 million annually at Aprilia during his intervention in the La Resistencia program… Miguel Oliveira is at 625.0000, Nakagami et Binder (500.000)
For the vast majority of drivers, money does not represent what they earn but the budget to bring to race
Enea Bastianini is at the bottom of the scale at 375 euros, but he was able to improve his lot with the bonuses from his four victories valued at 000 euros each, and especially his exceptional bonus Ducati acquired by finishing on the final podium. His teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio was also at 375 euros, more than Luca marini (300 000), Binder, Bezzecchi, Fernandez, and Gardner (250 000)
The fact remains that at the base of the pyramid the vast majority of drivers earn nothing or almost nothing and almost everyone pays to race. Likewise, according to the Forbes ranking based on athletes' income between May 1, 2021 and May 1, 2022, there are no motorcycle riders among the 50 highest paid athletes in the world (world gross of 2,97, XNUMX billion dollars).
On your mind, Lionel Messi (football) with 130 million dollars between 75 million winnings on the field and 55 million off the field...The first representative of motor sports is only 17th with the F1 driver Lewis Hamilton with 65 million, half of which only for the 2022 entry. The double World Champion Max Verstappen is 27e with 48 million. Brought back to the risk factor taken, motorcycle riders are decidedly underrated and will be even more so if the question of bonuses to be defined for the new sprint races is not resolved before the start of this 2023 season.
