Ferrari itself never pays anyone that much. I work in close contact with the parent company, FIAT Group: I can assure you that the Group never paid Schumacher more than a few million per year (more or less aligned to CEO-grade wages), most of Schumi's wages actually came from the sponsors. Fiat's policy is that human resources cannot be paid unlimited amounts - and CEO grade is as high as it gets. This applies to F.1 drivers as well to every other employee. For example, Fiat's Group CEO Marchionne last year earned wages of 8.3 million Euros and stock options for another 10 million or so. Effectively Fiat paid him more than it paid Schumacher out of its own pocket, as it should rightly be. Besides, Ferrari has never generated the kind of profits that could sustain such enormous costs - when Schumi arrived in '96 Ferrari made profits for about 50 million Euros; in 2006 it's going to make about 160 million (out of sales of 1200 million). It would make absolutely no sense for a company to pay one employee 1/3 of its operating profit!!!
When comparing CEO's and F1 drivers good old Eddie Irvine was Ford's highest paid employee at some point.... even beyond Bill Ford. Going back to Ferrari. Even if Schumi's salary was paid by a sponsor wouldn't that still be Ferrari sponsor derived money? Isn't sponsorship paid to the team even if it's then used for a driver's salary?
So interesting. How exactly does contractual information about driver's salary become public? Or is this just guesswork?
On that side, it really is unfortunate that drivers in lower levels don't get paid. Makes it damn near impossible for many to enter the sport, or advance to a series of their caliber. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Reality is that the changes have made the racing closer. Top teams will stay at the top, and the back markers will stay there unless the step up their game. Engineers have much more creative work to do. They can't simply come up with one good thing and run away with it. They must improve every tiny aspect of the car, driver and team to get ahead. It appears you don't quite understand F1. It's much more than just race cars. Without the luxuries and mind-blowing spending, it would be just another series.
How much will Kimi take home after taxes, and what other expenses does he have? I'm guessing that he gets a good $30 mill US, is that about right.
Might get to keep more, I think he resides in Monaco. I imagine that press conference was REALLY exciting! "yes i am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity it will be good i would like to drive the cars on the track..." :|
I think every fan and F1 employee would enjoy it more if were "just another series", and leave all that glitzy money hungry corporate glamour and billion dollar budgets to the people in Hollywood. IMHO auto racing was always a working mans sport, now its come along the lines of Polo and Horse Racing, where only the wealthy are allowed in? Just let the best team and best driver win!
Exactly. When a Jerk Off Like Tom Cruise gets paid $25 M for 3 months making a movie, that the stunt man may get hurt, these guys are worth every penny.
Obviously, there is some danger. However, this is a gross exaggeration. F1 cars are very, very good at protecting the drivers. The last death was Ayrton Senna, and we've had 12 years of safety improvements since then.
Exactly, it just takes one weekend. It had been how long since Senna and Ratzenberger got killed? 82 at Canada with Ricardo Palleti? Elio De Angelis at Practice at Paul Ricard in 86?
How does top secret surveillance programs find their way onto the front page of the New York Times? Exactly the same way every other news story gets generated, because someone took the time to find out or someone in the know opened their mouth. You seem to think that drivers' contracts are the most highly guarded secrets in the Western world, don't you? If an intrepid reporter can find out details of highly secretive CIA programs, then something as mundane as the salary of an athlete ought to be child's play.
Will be slightly embarassing when $8m bargain Massa matches the pace of the Finn. Ferrari have paid well over the odds for Kimi IMHO.
It is just a matter of time. MS had about 5 accidents where each one of them could have easily killed him had it gone just a tad different. CF monocoques are extremely sturdy, but if the impact angle is more like 90 degrees (Monza) or the car flips onto gravel (Australia) or you're about to hit an obstacle (Interlagos) the outcome is in no longer in your hand. These guys are being paid a lot because they have a unique talent, but apart from that also because they can "flip the switch" in their brain and actually not hold back anything knowing full well that it could cost them their life. I can be fast all I want in my sim and "beat" their times, but I do that never getting hurt. Therein lies the difference.
I believe the most Senna made in one year with McLaren was around $15 million, which was the highest F1 salary to that date. Things have moved on a bit since...
While it is true that F1 drivers put their lives at risk, so do drivers in virtually every other series. And, athletes in other sports do, too. So, that alone does not explain the vast difference between Kimi and some driver in GP2. Moreover, how does one account for golf compensation? They certainly don't risk their lives, yet Tiger's compensation is outrageous. Don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not trying to say they're not talented. If I could play golf as well as Tiger, you bet I'd be doing it and making a mint. But, there are a couple of things that don't square for me. First, the market for compensation is out of control. Was Schumacher worth $100MM a year? Is Tiger? Is a CEO? Is anyone? Second, let's assume I'm a really good golfer. Like I can win every club tourney I enter. However, I'm just not quite good enough to earn my pro card for whatever reason. So, the difference between being good enough and not is millions of dollars a year? I could use the same analogy for football or any other professional sport. If I'm good enough to play in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and maybe the NHL (let's not forget soccer for the RoW bunch), I can make millions. If I'm not good enough, I can't even earn a living in the sport. And, worse, many of these players, it seems that once they leave the game can't make a living doing anything but commentating. So, the prize for 1st place is exponentially better than anything else. Is this right or correct? Sure, we love winners, but this is getting to be absurd. $100MM+ contracts for baseball players? Are they risking their lives? Frankly, I'd like to see a re-set on ALL compensation. Including teachers! Especially Hollywood. Tom Cruise is no exception. He's vastly overpaid. And, I think it's a farce when actors like Cruise get millions while they play those appeals to the audience to not pirate the movie because it takes food out of the mouths of hard working movie people. What a crock! Why don't they just pay Cruise et al one half of what they do and give the rest to the underpaid grips, gaffs, best girls and boys and whoever the heck else is riding on the train but being exploited! Sorry, but it's just too hypocritical for me to take seriously. All I can say is that for this kind of money, Kimi better win EVERY FREAKIN' RACE and the DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP for the next DECADE! CW
I would say it appears from real life that it is probably easier to find out details of CIA programs, as in most cases, there are substantially more than a handful of people involved, usually dozens, and someone eager to be the next Deep Throat. The salary of a non-league athelete is known only by the athelete, his manager, his attorney, and the owner, manager, and attorney of the team. Possibly a sponsor. All of them have an interest in keeping such costs very secret, especially a married athelete that may have Grey Goose moments. No motive to leak. So I would suggest that most of the salary figures you are reading are purely someone's guess.
The same can be said for baseball players but details of their contracts are constantly in the papers. I would suggest that there are likely to be far more people than you think that have access to that kind of information. If national security secrets that can put lives at risk can find its way into newspapers, then so can something as damn silly as a paycheck. You make it sound as if these are nuclear weapons technology secrets. Frankly someone is worth what someone else is willing to pay. If a movie studio thinks Tom Cruise is worth $25 million a year, then he is. Trying to relate the salaries of the top drivers in the world to school teacher pay is absolutely ridiculous. What are the barriars to entry for school teachers? Minimal. How many drivers out there are good enough for F1? A handful. As I stated before, if you think F1 drivers or movie stars or CEOs are overpaid, then why don't you become one? Maybe it isn't so easy as you think.
I can sympathize with your thoughts as I am sure we all can but bottom line is everyone has opportunity in life at some stage..even more so here in the USA. Our destiny's are largely determined by the choices we make...or dont make and what one is willing to sacrifice to get what you want. You can either bitc$h and moan about the system, get into politics and try and change the system or you play the system to your maximum abilities. No one said life is fair. If you want to be rich then go get it...it can and is done every day by all sorts of people in different walks of life..and if one becomes the next Tiger or Schumacher and gets paid a bazillion $$$ more F __king power to them. The fact that Morons like Tom Cruise and his ilk can make it should give hope to everyone.
I don't know about the rest of you but I would rather live in a world where it is possible to make $100 million a year (whether I do or not) than to live in a world where other people can arbitrarily decide that I earn too much. It's a free market, live with it.
+1 Ferrari feel that Kimi is worth it - I am sure Marlboro is footing a good chunk of the salary. It is a free market. If Kimi doesnt perform - he will be kicked out! There are a lot of people earning "outrageous" money - due credit to them - they have the balls to ask for it and perform well enough to deserve it.
