LEWIS HAMILTON has signed a bumper new one-year £40million Mercedes contract which is nearly double his highest paid rival Max Verstappen’s annual wage.
The Brit, who had been out of contract since January 1, has committed to Mercedes for 12 more months.
His deal includes a charitable donation to help increase diversity in F1.
And the £40m figure is understood to include all bonuses and add-ons.
Record breaking Hamilton is by far the sport’s highest earner with Red Bull’s Dutch star Verstappen coming in at second-place with his £18.2m-a-year deal.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren are tie third with their £10.19m annual wage.
And Leclerc’s team-mate Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel complete the top six earning £7.28m every 12 months.
Former world champion Fernando Alonso pockets a cool £6.55m-a-year with Hamilton’s team-mate Valtteri Bottas collecting less than 20 per cent of the Brit’s salary at £5.82m.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen bring up the rear with £4.37m and £3.64m respectively.
Hamilton, 36, will go into his 15th season in F1 looking to win a record eighth world title – surpassing the joint-record he currently holds with Michael Schumacher.
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Hamilton already holds the record for the most wins (95), pole positions (98) and podium finishes (165).
Mercedes say the new deal will ‘form of a joint charitable foundation, which will have the mission of supporting greater diversity and inclusion in all its forms in motorsport’.
Hamilton said: “I am excited to be heading into my ninth season with my Mercedes team-mates.
“Our team has achieved incredible things together and we look forward to building on our success even further, while continuously looking to improve, both on and off the track.
“I’m equally determined to continue the journey we started to make motorsport more diverse for future generations and I am grateful that Mercedes has been extremely supportive of my call to address this issue.
“I’m proud to say we are taking that effort further this year by launching a foundation dedicated to diversity and inclusion in the sport.
“I am inspired by all that we can build together and can’t wait to get back on the track in March.”
Testing in Bahrain gets underway on March 12 with the season opener in the desert two weeks later.
