Australian driver Oscar Piastri has rocketed up the list of highest earners in F1 after taking home a staggering bonus for his achievements in 2025. Piastri cut a frustrated figure at the end of the F1 season after McLaren teammate Lando Norris stormed home to take the F1 title.
Piastri led for a solid portion of the season, but a poor run of six races ultimately cost him his first world title. The Australian has been at the centre of speculation this season after many felt McLaren could have done more to support him when he held a substantial lead in the title race.
To soften the blow of missing out on the F1 title Oscar Piastri (pictured) took home a whopping $56.4 million in earnings, which included $40 million in bonuses. (Images: Getty Images)
This has prompted doubt surrounding his future at the team with suggestions Piastri could look elsewhere when his contract ends in 2026. However, while he missed out on the title, the blow would have been softened after he received an added bonus in 2025 for his efforts.
Having finished third in the title race, Piastri took home a whopping $56.4 million in earnings, which included $40 million in bonuses, according to Forbes. This is up from $35.6 million in 2024. Piastri finished atop the podium on seven occasions this season. He finished on the podium 16 times.
Three drivers took home more money than Piastri in 2025 and two of them finished above him in the title race. Teammate Norris took home $86.5 million for winning the world title. Lewis Hamilton may not have dominated in the Ferrari, but his annual salary saw him earn close to $106 million.
And the biggest winner of the prize money was Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. This year’s runner-up took home $114 million thanks to both his salary and bonuses.
Despite finishing third, Piastri’s efforts were clearly appreciated by the team considering McLaren easily won the constructors championship. The 24-year-old will be looking to improve on his third-place finish in 2025 with new cars set to shake-up F1 in 2026.
Oscar Piastri (pictured left) still managed to earn $40 million in bonuses for his efforts in 2025.
F1 expert makes call on Oscar Piastri’s future
After so much was made of Piastri’s standing inside McLaren in 2025, F1 expert Cameron van den Dungen has suggested the Aussie won’t be in a rush to decide his next contract. Piastri is off contract at the end of 2026.
However, many have called for him to make a move to a team where he will get the support as the No.1 driver. But van den Dungen feels Piastri won’t look to join another team unless he feels he has a chance of winning with their car.
“F1 drivers will go where the best technical package is, they won’t worry about their wage so much,” he said on SEN Radio after the decider. “The big money may be thrown at him but he’s going to look at the cars available to him. Next year he stays at McLaren, he’s got his deal there, you’re not going to jump ship, they’re the team to be with.
“But Mark Webber will be having some significant meetings right now. We’ve seen pictures of him with Adrian Newey the new team boss at Aston Martin. They’re the outlier, we don’t know where they’re going to be. George Russell had quite a public stand off with Merc wanting his multi year deal, they wanted Max. The musical chairs is ever present. Oscar will definitely be looking around but it won’t be because of the tensions at McLaren, he wont care about that so long as they can give him a car that challenges for world titles.”
Lando Norris took home $86.5 million for winning the world title with McLaren.