Sebastian Vettel Salary 2022: The Big Paycut He Accepted to Switch from Ferrari F1 to Aston Martin in 2021

To say that the 2020 season was an atrocious one for Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari would be putting it mildly. At the end of the year, the Italian team finished sixth while the German driver finished the season at the 13th sport in the drivers’ standings. And leading up to 2020, there were talks that Ferrari and Vettel’s time together was ending.

And it did.

In 2021, Sebastian Vettel began a new chapter of his career when he signed for the Aston Martin F1 team. In some ways, Aston Martin saved Vettel’s career, which was looking more and more uncertain as his form plummeted in his final bitter season at Ferrari.

But it came at a price, a literal one. This is because the four-time world champion took a massive pay cut when he was signed by Lawrence Stroll’s growing project at Aston Martin.

According to a report, Vettel was earning $40 million a year at Ferrari in salary and endorsements. This ranked him as 18th on the Forbes list of highest-paid athletes in 2017.

Now at Aston Martin, Vettel earned $15 million, excluding bonuses and sponsorships.

But Vettel still has time to regain his form and his former paycheck. Earlier in 2021, Lawrence Stroll had said, “We are delighted to have Sebastian on our team. It is our intention to continue working with him next year and beyond.”

Aston Martin delighted with Sebastian Vettel

Despite not turning any waves in his first season at his new team, Vettel won many hearts, if not any races.

Former CEO Otmar Szafnauer described the German as “brilliant.” He said, “He’s such a man of integrity, he works hard, great work ethic, leaves no stone unturned.”

“The engineers like working with him, the mechanics love him as a person. He’s just a genuine guy. And that goes a long way in life.”

It will be interesting to see how Sebastian Vettel approaches and performs in the 2022 season.

The new regulations and the new car leave all possibilities open for everyone, but one wonders, is the German still good enough or ambitious enough to win his fifth world championship?

Also Read: Sebastian Vettel on Recent Engine Regulations: “F1 Will Disappear If They Don’t Come – and Probably Rightly So”