Drivers salaries released showing Raikkonen is by far and away the best paid driver of the field.

The F1 drivers salaries have been released today and they show that the ‘iceman’ Kimi Raikkonen is by far and away the highest paid F1 driver as he earns a cool $45m at Ferrari – over twice what the second highest paid driver Lewis Hamilton earns – $18m. These figures don’t even include other driver income such as sponsorship deals which can be up to three times as large as the figure the teams pay the drivers, showing that in a time of global financial trouble, Formula 1 is still alive and well. The team which spends the highest on drivers wages is unsurprisingly Ferrari again who fork out $53m on drivers wages, more than twice the second place team – McLaren Mercedes.

Former world champion Raikkonen will no longer drive for Ferrari in 2010 as his position has been taken by Spaniard Fernando Alonso. Toyota is one team who has offered Raikkonen a contract for next season but his wage demands are have said to have been too high, and after seeing the amount he is paid at Ferrari, it is easy to see why!

Full list of F1 2009 driver salaries:

1. Kimi Raikkonen $45m
2. Lewis Hamilton $18m
3. Fernando Alonso $15m
4. Nico Rosberg $8.5m
5. Felipe Massa $8m
6. Jarno Trulli $6.5m
7. Sebastian Vettel $6m
8. Mark Webber $5.5m
9. Jenson Button $5m
10. Robert Kubica $4.5m
11. Heikki Kovalainen $3.5m
12. Nick Heidfeld $2.8m
13. Timo Glock $2m
14. Giancarlo Fisichella $1.5m
15. Sébastien Buemi $1.5m
16. Rubens Barrichello $1m
17. Jaime Alguersuari $0.5m
18. Vitantonio Liuzzi $Nil
19. Adrian Sutil $Nil
20. Romain Grosjean $Nil
21. Kazuki Nakajima $Nil

What the F1 teams spent on drivers in 2009:

1. Ferrari $53m
2. McLaren-Mercedes $21.5m
3. Renault $15m
4. Red Bull Racing $11.5m
5. Toyota $8.5
6. Williams $8.5m
7. BMW-Sauber $7.3m
8. Brawn GP $6m
9. Scuderia Toro Rosso $2m
10. Force India $1.5m