'Hamilton, Leclerc and Vettel reportedly willing to waive part of their salary'

According to reports from Express, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc are willing to surrender part of their salary. For Formula 1 teams, it is important to cut costs as much as possible now that there is virtually no income due to the coronavirus and the related cancellations of Grands Prix.

A certain part of the salary of Hamilton, Vettel and Leclerc could keep Mercedes and Ferrari in their own pockets to survive the corona crisis. The three drivers would follow the example of McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz. They have reportedly offered a pay cut themselves. Many employees of the British race stable in Woking have been sent on leave to save costs.

Save up to £2 million

Vettel and Hamilton earn £35 and £40 million a year respectively, a significant proportion of the entire budget of both top teams. If the world champions surrendered five per cent of their salary, this would save between £1.75 million and £2 million, a serious amount.

Nothing is known (yet) about Valtteri Bottas, nor about the Red Bull Racing of Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon.