After Enduring His Toughest F1 Season, $17 Million Hit Makes Lewis Hamilton Bow to Ronaldo, Messi

The 2022 season marked the end of Mercedes’ era of dominance. The Brackley-based team struggled to cope with the regulations and did not have the pace to challenge for the championship. Their experienced campaigner Lewis Hamilton, for the very first time in his 16-year-long F1 career, went a full season without a race win. That naturally took a huge hit on his on-track earnings which have seen him fall behind soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

As per Forbes, Hamilton earned a total of $65 million in 2022, down from the $82 million he earned a year before. His earnings from on-track performances, with zero race wins, in F1 totaled $57 million. Comparatively, the figure in the 2021 season reached an impressive $70 million. A downward spiral in his form on the circuit, however, did not affect his earnings away from it. In fact, it only went up from $8 million to $12 million.

That, however, did not prevent him from falling down the pecking order in the list of highest-earning athletes of the year. Hamilton held the 8th position on the list in 2021. However, after the 2022 season, he is out of the top-10 rankings, tumbling down to 17th. He still continues to be in the top-10 list of athletes with the highest earnings from their respective sports.

Portuguese soccer heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo ($200 million) tops the list whereas Hamilton could only manage 8th ($57 million). Ronaldo’s nemesis and recent FIFA WC winner Lionel Messi took the 4th spot with $75 million earned in wages. Other soccer players making the list are Messi’s PSG teammates Kylian Mbappe in 2nd ($110 million) and Neymar Jr. in 6th ($70 million).

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Despite taking a huge hit on his earnings, Hamilton did not stop himself from splurging on a mega vacation.

Lewis Hamilton vacations in Antarctica on a $243 million yacht

As F1 is going through a hiatus before the 2023 season, drivers are coming up with innovative ways to train. Charles Leclerc recently went for a snow mountain climb with his Ferrari development driver and trainer in Italy. Lewis on the other hand chose to go for a 7-mile run in Antarctica, on a trail with penguins and seals.

The ride that took him to the south pole was a sweet one as well. As per Sun’s report, the mega yacht called Octopus cost $243 million and is owned by Swedish billionaire Roger Samuelsson. It was previously owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Octopus costs $2.19 million a week to charter and boasts of a glass-bottomed aquarium, dive center, and underwater robot.

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After going through a season that was a test of his patience, Hamilton surely must be itching to get back on top. With Mercedes’ chief strategist James Vowles jumping ship to Williams as their new team principal, it is certainly not going to be easy for the Briton in 2023.