F1 Teams agree to $30m driver salary cap

(GMM) Formula 1 looks set to impose a salary cap for Formula 1 drivers.

The Daily Mail and other sources report that teams will only be allowed to spend $30 million on drivers from 2023.

The teams reportedly voted unanimously for the measure in Monday’s key meeting in Portimao, during which the reverse grid proposal was once again rejected.

The $30 million driver cap for 2023 could explain why Lewis Hamilton appears reluctant to commit to Formula 1 and Mercedes beyond a new one or two-year contract.

The six-time world champion is said to earn over $45 million per season currently.

Hamilton looks stunned when he heard the cap – he has to take a major pay cut

Haas team boss Gunther Steiner said recently that a salary cap is only logical in Formula 1’s new $145 million budget cap era which begins next year.

“If you want to spend a lot of money on a driver then you cannot do other things,” he said. “That should level the playing field even more and I think the salaries would adjust by themselves and end up lower than they are now.”