BAR F1: A Licence to Print Money?

By Phil Huff
April 2 2003

It's a well known fact that Formula 1 drivers are well paid, although what people don't realise is the years of struggling required to get there. It seems that once you get to F1, you can recover all your losses, but if you get a drive at BAR you can print your own money!

Since BAR started life back in 1999, they've had four drivers: Jacques Villeneuve, Ricardo Zonta, Olivier Panis and Jenson Button. The amazing thing is that all four drivers are in the top 40 earning drivers of all time.

Using best estimates at salary levels, it's possible to total the drivers F1 career earnings, and there's been 93 drivers who've managed to earn over US$1 million from F1 alone.

Looking higher up the list, at number 34, is Ricardo Zonta. He spent two years at BAR in 1999 and 2000, before moving to Jordan for most of 2001. The young Brazilian was never considered the greatest driver in history, but he's managed to earn $6.1 million from those 3 years.

Moving into the top 20, and we start to get some serious earners. At 20 is Olivier Panis. The Frenchman spent six years driving for just one team, Ligier, later renamed Prost, but faded off the radar slightly. A single season as a McLaren test driver rebuilt his reputation, and he landed a job at BAR for 2001 and 2002. Earning an estimated $3 million in 2002, BAR dispensed with his services so he moved to Toyota. A 50% pay rise to $4.5 million sees his career total come to $17.5 million. At 36 years old he's realistically not got much earning time left, but another two years at Toyota will see his pension fund increase substantially.

The 23 year old from Frome, Jenson Button, is one of F1's youngest stars, but has still managed four years in F1. Starting at BMW Williams in 2000, he then moved to Benetton for 2001. Renamed Renault for the 2002 season, Jenson suffered a difficult year but still managed to get a contract with BAR. The 2003 pay cheque will total around $4 million, taking his total earnings to an astonishing $23 million.

The second biggest F1 earner of all time, Jacques Villeneuve, has stuck by BAR for the teams entire history. He started in F1 at Williams, where he came as reigning CART champion, and took the championship to the last race, losing out to Damon Hill. He made amends in 1997 winning the championship in the dominant car. A quiet year in 1998 was his last at Williams, but he'd secured his reputation as a strong racer by then. BAR was set up around Villeneuve by his manager Craig Pollock, who held the unique position of team and driver manager. An escalating pay deal see Villeneuve earning an estimated $22 million for 2003, but this could be his last year in F1, If it is, he'll have made a massive $91 million out of Formula 1.

The top earner of all, Michael Schumacher, has earned about the same as Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost put together. His successful years at Ferrari have been extremely kind to Michael, who has amassed a fortune of $229 million from Formula 1 alone, and making him one of the biggest sports earners of all time.

And they say F1's in financial crisis?