F1 is a very expensive endeavor. It costs a lot of money and it requires a lot of efficiency. At the same time, it demands results as well. For every team on the grid, there’s only a fixed budget (not talking about the budget cap because driver salary does not fall within the confines of that) in place. This budget has to be used to hire the best resources in the most cost-effective manner.
These resources include F1 drivers as well. Drivers are arguably the highest-paid resource on the grid for any team, and they’re often worth it! The teams evaluate how much a driver can deliver in terms of on-track results (amongst other things) and that is used to determine the pay package they get.
Having said that, it is always interesting to see what kind of results are produced by these drivers and what they are getting paid by the teams. Forbes recently released a list of driver pay for the 2022 F1 season and it made us wonder how cost-effective these drivers were for their teams. To calculate that, we’re considering how much each driver costs the team for every point he scored last season.
To narrow things down, we’ve kept the list to the top 5 drivers. Let’s take a look at the top 5 most cost-effective drivers on the F1 grid.
#5 Lando Norris (McLaren)
Income: $11 million
Points: 122
Income/Points: $0.09 million per point
Lando Norris earned $11 million from McLaren last season while scoring 122 points. He was 7th in the championship and was the only driver outside the top 3 teams to score a podium.
Taking the MCL35M for some laps around Barcelona? Oh, go on then.
@LandoNorris is back behind the wheel!
Taking the MCL35M for some laps around Barcelona? Oh, go on then. 
@LandoNorris is back behind the wheel! https://t.co/zmbeTCTHGP
For Norris, if we divide the number of points scored by him and what he was paid, the driver costs the team $0.09 million per point and the value lands him as the fifth most cost-effective driver on the grid.
#4 Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
Income: $26 million
Points: 305
Income/Points: $0.085 million per point
Sergio Perez has seen a significant bump in the yearly package compared to that from his Force India days. Aided by the bonus he received from multiple race wins, a pole position in Jeddah, and multiple podiums, the Mexican earned $26 million last season.
The driver scored 305 points last season and when we calculate how much Perez costs per point, it comes down to $0.085 million per point, which is marginally lower than what Lando Norris costs McLaren.
#3 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Income: $23 million
Points: 308
Income/Points: $0.075 million per point
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc finished the season second in the championship and scored 308 points. Aided by bonuses of multiple pole positions for the team and three wins, the Monegasque earned $23 million last season.
charles leclerc and confetti, always a beautiful sight.
charles leclerc and confetti, always a beautiful sight. https://t.co/SWdjXNuVeU
Leclerc cost $.075 million for every point he scores, making him the third most cost-effective driver on the grid.
#2 Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
Income: $16 million
Points: 246
Income/Points: $0.065 million per point
Carlos Sainz might not pip his teammate Charles Leclerc in the F1 standings, but he certainly beats him when it comes to cost-effectiveness. The Spaniard scored a total of 246 points last season, in which he secured his first-ever pole position and race win.
Last weeks of pre-season training. Very happy with the progress done so far. We keep pushing. Vamos!
–
#Carlossainz
Last weeks of pre-season training. Very happy with the progress done so far. We keep pushing. Vamos! 
-#Carlossainz https://t.co/no3CeeACR5
Aided by the bonus of winning the F1 race at Silverstone and the pole positions in Austin and Silverstone, Sainz earned $16 million last season. Calculating the cost-effectiveness for the Spaniard, he costs $.065 million per point to Ferrari, propelling him to second on the list.
#1 George Russell (Mercedes F1)
Income: $10 million
Points: 275
Income/Points: $0.036 million per point
George Russell might not be too happy to find himself at the top of this F1 rating as the Mercedes driver is the most cost-effective in the sport. The driver, in his first season with the German F1 team, impressed everyone as he secured his maiden pole position and race win.
He finished the season 4th in the championship ahead of both Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz and scored 275 points. He, however, earned $10 million over the year, a comparatively smaller number than his peers.
As a result, in terms of cost-effectiveness, George Russell climbs to the top of the rankings as the driver costs Mercedes $0.036 million per point.
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