Aussies Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan have walked the red carpet at the glitzy F1 75 showcase as details of their relatively-modest salaries emerged.
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The F1 grid showed off their liveries for the 2025 season in a glamorous season launch event at London’s O2 Arena on Wednesday morning (AEDT).
McLaren was among the most talked about teams as the reigning constructors campions unveiled their new MCL39.
A report dropped before the start of the event with the rumoured salaries each driver will take home this year.
The Sun reports Piastri will be the No. 12 highest-paid driver on the F1 grid, earning just 30 per cent of McLaren teammate Lando Norris’ whopping $32 million salary.
That extraordinary detail is just one of many contained in the Formula 1 rich list compiled by the UK publication, which shows Max Verstappen will again be the highest-paid driver in 2025, earning more than $100 million.
Further down the list is where things get messy.
While many believe Piastri in 2025 is a real threat to out-drive teammate Norris, who finished second in the driver’s championship last year, the Melburnian will be paid around $9.4 million this year. He is in the second year of a three-year contract extension he signed with McLaren in 2023.
Piastri was again somewhat in his teammate’s shadow as they took centre stage at F1 75.
Piastri showed up in a flashy orange McLaren road supercar alongside team boss Zak Brown.
Unlike some of the other teams, he did not pose alongside Norris on the red carpet and was happy to make his entrance on his lonesome.
His girlfriend Lily Zneimer was spotted alongside him behind the scenes.
The McLaren car was the final one unveiled at the event and unsurprisingly both drivers said they were optimistic about the year ahead.
“I’m super excited for what we’ve got in store,” Piastri said. “Obviously last year was a great result for the whole team and both of us as drivers, but we want to take that next step up and fight from the beginning. I’m super excited for the season to start.”
Earlier on the night Aussie Jack Doohan was unveiled by Alpine ahead of his first season with a full-time seat.
According to The Sun, Doohan will be the equal-lowest paid driver on the grid this year, earning around $1.4 million. That figure is nowhere near French teammate Pierre Gasly, who is reportedly set to earn around $16 million. Doohan’s deal expires at the end of 2026.
F1 drivers rich list 2025
Max Verstappen — Red Bull — $104m
Lewis Hamilton — Ferrari — $96 million
Charles Leclerc — Ferrari — $54m
Fernando Alonso — Aston Martin — $32m
Lando Norris — McLaren — $32
George Russell — Mercedes — $34m
Carlos Sainz — Williams — $16m
Pierre Gasly — Alpine — $16m
Alexander Albon — Williams — $12.6m
Nico Hulkenberg — Sauber — $11m
Esteban Ocon — Haas — $11m
Oscar Piastri — McLaren — $9.4m
Lance Stroll — Aston Martin — $4.6m
Gabriel Bortoletto — Sauber — $3m
Yuki Tsunoda — RB — $3m
Kimi Antonelli — Mercedes — $3m
Olivier Bearman — Haas — $1.6m
Liam Lawson — Red Bull — $1.6m
Jack Doohan — Alpine — $1.4m
Isack Hadjar — RB — $1.4m
Despite the warped pay-scale at McLaren, F1 pundits have been coming forward during the off-season saying Piastri is capable of winning a world championship this year.
F1 cult hero Guenther Steiner said this week Piastri is ready to “go” for the championship this year.
“I think he has the right car now and I think this is his year,” he told the Herald Sun.
“Coming in as a rookie he over-delivered for a rookie in 2023 and in ’24 he followed up with some improvement.
“And this year, now he’s ready to go for it.”
The respected F1 pundit even went as far as to say Piastri, who turns 24 in April, is a good chance to become a world champion either this year or in the seasons to come.
“I think he’s very good and for sure learned a lot last year,” he said.
“One of the things to look forward to for sure this year is McLaren because I think talent-wise, Lando and Oscar are very close.
“I think they are the same. They have got the same speed … I think as the season goes they will want one of their guys to go for the driver’s championship.
“Obviously the pressure now comes onto Oscar because he shows he can do it. Now he needs to want it a little bit more because he wants to win a world championship now.”
If he manages to win the world championship, Piastri would become just the third Australian, after Alan Jones and Sir Jack Brabham to do so.
Seven-time grand prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya said this week the McLaren garage could get “ugly” if one of the McLaren drivers gets a faster start than the other early this season.
The former McLaren driver said the team has so far done a good job of keeping both drivers happy.
“I think it could get ugly at the end of the year if they have a big advantage in points and they let them race for the championship,” Montoya said.
“Otherwise, I think they’d be pretty even. McLaren has probably done the best job of keeping both drivers happy.”
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