Sébastien Ogier is the highest paid rally driver in 2018 earning around $3.7 million a year through his contract with M-Sport Ford WRT. While Thierry Neuville is also earning pretty similar close to $3.3 million making these two the highest paid drivers in WRC circuit. We take a look at drivers contracts and endorsement deals to see which are the top earners in 2018.
World Rally Championship 46th season started in the month of March 2018. How much a rally driver get paid each season. Top drivers such as (Sébastien Ogier, Thierry Neuville, Jari-Matti Latvala and Elfyn Evans) earn big money from the racing team. Last year sports magazine revealed the annual base contract salaries of the drivers. The highest paid driver is Sébastien Ogier with $3.5 million salary per year.
Here you will see the details of the WRC rally drivers salaries. The report of salaries made after combining data from the different and trusted sources such as (Motorsports Week, Forbes, Autoweek, Car Keys, and other sources). Not all drivers salaries accurate because some racing team never public their drivers earning detail so estimated (pay) mention in the given table.
| Drivers | Contract Bases Salary | WRC Team |
| Sébastien Ogier | $3.7 million | M-Sport Ford WRT |
| Thierry Neuville | $3.3 million | Hyundai Motorsport |
| Ott Tänak | $2.75 million | Toyota Yaris WRC |
| Andreas Mikkelsen | $2.5 million | Toyota Yaris WRC |
| Jari-Matti Latvala | $2.25 million | Toyota Yaris WRC |
| Elfyn Evans | $2.25 million | M-Sport Ford WRT |
| Dani Sordo | $1.12 million | Hyundai Shell Mobis WRT |
| Craig Breen | $1 million | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
| Kris Meeke (estimated) | $850,000 | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
| Sébastien Loeb | $800,000 | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
| Mads Østberg | $720,000 | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
| Hayden Paddon (estimated) | $850,000 | Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC |
| Esapekka Lappi (estimated | $500,000 | Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT |
| Teemu Suninen | $300,000 | M-Sport Ford WRT |
| Bryan Bouffier | $275,000 | M-Sport Ford WRT |
| Gus Greensmith (estimated) | $225,000 | M-Sport World Rally Team |
| Pontus Tidemand | $150,000 | Škoda Motorsport |
| Jan Kopecký (estimated) | $120,000 | Škoda Motorsport |
| Khalid Al-Qassimi (estimated) | $100,000 | Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT |
#1: Sébastien Ogier: Annual Salary & Endorsement ($3.7 million)
Sébastien Ogier five time world champion recently signed a new contract with racing team (M-Sport) in 2017, that make him highest paid rally driver in the world. Just like other racing drivers he earned a good amount of money from endorsement. His annual salary is $3.5 million and $200,000 is the earnings from (endorsements).
#2: Thierry Neuville: Annual Salary & Endorsement ($3.3 million)
The Belgium rally driver (Thierry Neuville) finished 2nd on the points table after Ogier. He lost the drivers championship with just 24 points. In last two season of WRC (Neuville) finished at 2nd spot and that earned him a big money contract. Neuville make ($200k) from the endorsement earnings.