Formula 1 drivers flew out of Australia almost immediately after last weekend’s race in Melbourne in a bid to save significant slices of their salary.
In what was the first event of the 2026 season, it was George Russell who took out the Australian Grand Prix from Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli.
It came after Oscar Piastri crashed out on the formation lap, failing to even start the race and missing out on a chance to snap his home grand prix curse.
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Oscar Piastri had a tough time in Melbourne. Formula 1 via Getty Images
While the event is huge for the F1 circuit, the drivers don’t look favourably upon competing in Australia due to the punishing tax system.
Non-resident drivers, which is the majority of the top stars in the sport from Europe, are taxed 45 per cent of their earnings during the Australian GP and for that reason, the majority of the grid flew out straight after Sunday’s race.
The likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris are on huge F1 salaries and each day they spend on Aussie soil becomes even more costly.
For example, Verstappen earned approximately $1.15 million of his reported annual salary of $70 million during the six days he spent in Australia, meaning he has to cough up the best part of $500,000 in tax.
Max Verstappen. NurPhoto via Getty Images
If he stayed an extra day after the Australian GP, he would have been docked another $75,000 in tax before flying back home or to the next race destination.
The four-time champion had more on his mind than just tax issues after the race, hinting he could walk away from the sport over recent regulation changes.
The next race of the F1 season is scheduled for Sunday night (AEDT) in Shanghai, China.