Gabriel Bortoleto Salary 2026 in His Second Season
Gabriel Bortoleto earns a base salary of $2m at Audi in 2026, exactly what Sauber paid him as a rookie last year. That’s double the $1m earned by Oliver Bearman and Liam Lawson, yet less than a third of the $7m Audi pays Nico Hülkenberg.
Over 23 races it comes to about $87k per Grand Prix. The same $2m is expected in 2027 and 2028 as well, so a real pay rise looks tied to his next contract.
Lists Bortoleto's $2m base salary for 2026 in a grid-wide pay survey that leaves out bonuses.
Base Salary Earned in 2026$1.63m of $2m
82% of the way through 2026
Since this page loaded
BASE SALARY EARNED
$0Prorated Earnings Estimate
POTENTIAL INCOME
$0Prorated Earnings Estimate
CAREER EARNINGS
$3,550,000Prorated Earnings Estimate
These tickers illustrate calculated averages based on annual figures and are not actual payments.
Could Bortoleto Earn a Bonus This Year?
A strong season could add around $1m in bonuses and take Bortoleto’s potential income for 2026 to $3m. On a $2m salary that’s a 50% boost, a much bigger swing for him than the same sum would be for Hülkenberg. He has 10 points after finishing 13th at the United States Grand Prix, and his 2026 season stats put him 15th in the championship, three behind Hülkenberg.
What Bortoleto Earns Each Month and Race
PER MONTH
$167k
PER WEEK
$38k
PER DAY
$5,479
PER HOUR
$228
Bortoleto’s $2m base averages out at $167k a month and $38k a week. If the $1m bonus scenario comes through, the monthly figure grows to $250k and each Grand Prix is worth about $130k. These are illustrative averages rather than a record of when or how Audi pays him.
F1 SALARIES INSIDER
Get the Money Side of F1 Every Thursday
Follow Gabriel Bortoleto’s contract and the rest of the 2027 driver market in one free email every Thursday, with the last race by salary, the next race, and a featured driver.
Want every issue in full? Get Insider+ for $5 a month or $40 a year.
Insider · Issue 23
01 · The Last Race
Singapore by Salary
Pos
Driver
Pts
Salary
1
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
25
$70m
2
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
18
$34m
3
Kimi Antonelli
Mercedes
15
$3.4m
4
Lando Norris
McLaren
12
$30m
5
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
10
$13m
6
Insider+
7
Insider+
Our Take · Insider+
What Each Point Now Costs Red Bull
Audi Contract
4 years
Announced 6 Nov 2024
Status
Under contract
Base Salary
$2m
Potential Income
$3m
Starts
2025
Ends
End of 2028
Duration
4 years
Est. Contract Value
$8m
2027 Salary
$2m
2028 Salary
$2m
Essentials
Gabriel Bortoleto
Age 22
Driver
Gabriel Bortoleto
Team
Audi
Number
#5
Nationality
Brazilian
Age
22
Manager
Fernando Alonso and Alberto Fernández / A14 Management
Names Fernando Alonso and Alberto Fernández of A14 Management as the team behind his career.
Gabriel Bortoleto's Contract Stretches Beyond 2027
Sauber announced Bortoleto on November 6, 2024, about a month before he sealed the Formula 2 title, on a multi-year deal that began in 2025. No end date has been published, but he has said he’ll be with Audi in 2027 and in the seasons that follow.
On that basis the deal covers at least four seasons and runs to the end of 2028 or beyond. At $2m a year, those four seasons are worth about $8m in base salary. Audi has already confirmed him alongside Nico Hülkenberg for 2027, so his seat for next season is settled.
Bortoleto has only two F1 seasons behind him, both paid at $2m. The stints below cover that start with Sauber and Audi, plus the two junior title years before it, when results mattered far more than pay. Those earnings sit behind his estimated $4m net worth.
2025-2026
Sauber and Audi
$2m
Rookie Pay, Long Commitment
▾
POTENTIAL INCOME
$2m-3m
AGE
20-21
TEAM
Sauber and Audi
Sauber paid $2m for his rookie year, when he replaced Valtteri Bottas and scored 19 points. The base stayed at $2m after the switch to Audi, and his 10 points so far in 2026 are three fewer than Hülkenberg has.
SEASON
AGE
BASE SALARY
POTENTIAL INCOME
POINTS
POS
2026
21
$2m
$3m
10
15
2025
20
$2m
$2m
19
19
2023-2024
Trident / Invicta
No F1 salary
Two Titles in Two Years
▾
POTENTIAL INCOME
No F1 salary
AGE
TEAM
Trident / Invicta
He won Formula 3 with Trident in 2023 and Formula 2 with Invicta in 2024, each at the first attempt. There was no F1 salary yet, but McLaren added him to its junior program before releasing him to join Sauber.
A pre-season survey reporting his $2m base salary for his rookie year at Sauber.
Why Audi Is Backing Bortoleto Long Term
Audi chose Bortoleto for the long haul because he pairs a champion’s junior record with a salary that leaves plenty of room to grow.
Back-to-back titles. Winning F3 in 2023 and F2 in 2024 made him only the fourth driver, after Charles Leclerc, George Russell, and Oscar Piastri, to take those titles in consecutive years.
A low starting salary. His $2m base is less than a third of Hülkenberg’s $7m, which keeps the cost of developing him low.
Early results. His 10 points after the United States Grand Prix keep him within three of his far more experienced teammate in 2026.
Time on his side. At 21, and with a deal he says runs beyond 2027, he can grow with the team through the new rules era.
Alonso in his corner. Fernando Alonso and Alberto Fernández of A14 Management represent him, which gives him a two-time world champion’s guidance inside the paddock.
Bortoleto vs Hülkenberg on Pay and Points
Bortoleto’s $2m base is $5m less than Nico Hülkenberg’s $7m, and the gap stays wide with bonus scenarios included, at $3m against $9.9m. The points battle is much closer than last year, when he trailed Hülkenberg 51 to 19, and after the United States Grand Prix it stands at 13 to 10 in Hülkenberg’s favor.
Gabriel Bortoleto makes a base salary of $2m a year at Audi, the same as in his 2025 rookie season with Sauber. That’s about $87k per race. A strong season could add around $1m in bonuses, lifting his potential income for 2026 to $3m. His base is expected to stay at $2m in 2027 and 2028.
Gabriel Bortoleto makes about $167k a month from his $2m Audi base salary in 2026, or roughly $38k a week. If the $1m bonus scenario comes through, his monthly average grows to $250k.
These are even splits of his yearly pay for illustration, and they don’t show when or how Audi actually pays him.
Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi contract is worth about $8m in base salary, based on four seasons at $2m a year from 2025 to the end of 2028. Sauber announced the multi-year deal on November 6, 2024 but never published an end date, so the value could rise if it runs beyond 2028, and any bonuses come on top.
Gabriel Bortoleto is under contract with Audi until at least the end of 2028. Sauber announced the multi-year deal on November 6, 2024, and it began in 2025. No final year has been published, but Bortoleto has said he’ll be with Audi in 2027 and beyond. The team has already confirmed him for next season.
No, Gabriel Bortoleto earns less than Nico Hülkenberg. His $2m base salary is $5m below Hülkenberg’s $7m, and their potential incomes including bonuses are $3m and $9.9m. Hülkenberg leads on track too in 2026, by 13 points to 10 after the United States Grand Prix.
