How Much Do F1 Team Members Make? 5 Key Jobs

When an F1 driver crosses the finish line, one name appears beside the result. Behind that name is a group of people who spent the previous two hours watching tire temperatures, studying rivals, changing wheels, checking the driver’s condition, and turning thousands of data points into decisions.

Some are visible on television. Others may work inside the garage, along the pit wall, or from a remote operations room hundreds of miles away.

So, what do these people actually do, and how much do they make?

That second question is harder than it sounds. F1 teams rarely publish individual salaries. Job listings often say “competitive,” compensation changes with experience and team seniority, and bonuses or travel allowances may not be included in public estimates.

Most teams are based in the United Kingdom, so the estimates below begin with annual UK pay before tax. US-dollar figures are rounded conversions using approximately £1 = $1.30. Exchange rates move daily, so the dollar amounts are best treated as an easy comparison, not an exact paycheck calculation. They also do not represent a separate US salary market. These are informed market ranges, not confirmed payroll figures from every team.

Senior leaders, department heads, and highly sought-after specialists can earn more. Newer employees may earn less.

1. Race engineer

Estimated pay: £70,000 to £150,000+ per year, about $91,000 to $195,000+ USD

The race engineer is the voice most fans recognize. This is usually the person speaking directly to the driver over team radio.

That makes the job sound like high-speed customer service, but the radio is only the visible part. The race engineer coordinates information from specialists across the team, helps set the car up, builds session plans, studies feedback, and decides what the driver needs to know at each moment.

During practice, the race engineer may guide setup changes involving wing level, suspension, differential settings, brake balance, and tire preparation. During qualifying, communication becomes shorter and more precise. The engineer helps manage traffic, timing, tire preparation, and the gap to the car ahead.

During the race, the job becomes a filter. Hundreds of things are happening, but the driver cannot process all of them at once. The engineer must decide which message matters now.

Imagine trying to explain a complicated problem to someone traveling at 200 mph while twenty other people are offering you information. That is a large part of the role.

The higher salary estimate reflects the experience normally required. A top race engineer often works through lower formulas, simulation, data, performance engineering, or supporting trackside roles before becoming the main link to an F1 driver.

2. Strategy engineer or race strategist

Estimated pay: £50,000 to £100,000+ per year, about $65,000 to $130,000+ USD

The strategist tries to answer the question fans debate every Sunday: when should the car pit?

But strategy involves much more than picking a lap. The strategy group models tire degradation, traffic, weather, Safety Car probability, competitors’ likely choices, pit-lane time loss, and the pace needed to reach the finish.

Before the race, strategists run thousands of possible scenarios. Once the lights go out, the clean simulation meets a messy reality.

A rival pits earlier than expected. Rain appears at one end of the circuit. A yellow flag changes the value of stopping. A driver says the tires feel fine even though the data suggests they are beginning to fall away.

The strategist must update the plan in seconds.

Not every strategist sits on the pit wall. Teams can use specialists at the circuit and back at the factory. The trackside team then combines those recommendations with driver feedback and live information from the car.

Junior strategy engineers may begin closer to the lower end of the range. A chief strategist with years of F1 experience, leadership responsibilities, and a record of making strong decisions may earn well beyond it.

3. Race mechanic and pit-crew member

Estimated pay: £42,000 to £70,000+ per year, about $55,000 to $91,000+ USD

This role comes with one of the biggest misconceptions in F1.

The people changing tires are not normally hired only to perform pit stops. They are traveling mechanics and technicians with full-time responsibilities for building, preparing, inspecting, and repairing the car.

Their pit-stop position is an additional race-day duty.

A mechanic may be responsible for a particular area of the car throughout the weekend, then become a wheel-gun operator, wheel remover, wheel fitter, jack operator, or stabilizer during a stop. Teams assign and train these positions based on strength, speed, consistency, movement, and the person’s normal working location around the car.

The stop lasts only a few seconds. The job does not.

Former Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas publicly pushed back against claims that pit crews earn hundreds of thousands of pounds. He said the average F1 technician was closer to £60,000 annually, that a typical week could reach about 70 hours, and that mechanics did not receive extra pay simply for serving on the pit crew.

That figure helps place the role in reality. Pit crew members may be elite at what they do, but their compensation is much closer to skilled technical work than to a driver’s salary.

The schedule is demanding too. Mechanics travel internationally, work long days, rebuild damaged cars under severe time pressure, and still need to perform a choreographed pit stop without hesitation.

4. Performance or data engineer

Estimated pay: £45,000 to £85,000+ per year, about $59,000 to $111,000+ USD

An F1 car produces a huge stream of information. The performance engineer helps turn that information into speed.

This person studies areas such as braking, steering, throttle use, tire behavior, energy deployment, ride height, balance, and the time gained or lost through each corner. They compare the driver’s comments with what the sensors show.

If the driver reports that the rear of the car feels unstable in one type of corner, the performance engineer searches for the pattern. Is the problem caused by entry speed, brake release, wind, tire temperature, differential settings, or something in the car’s setup?

The role is part detective and part translator.

During a session, the performance engineer feeds useful findings to the race engineer. Between sessions, they help recommend changes. After the weekend, they review what happened and carry those lessons into simulation and future setup work.

Entry-level or support data roles may fall below the range above, while senior performance engineers and technical specialists can move above it. Software, coding, simulation, vehicle dynamics, and clear communication are all valuable skills.

5. Driver performance coach

Estimated pay: £40,000 to £80,000+ per year, about $52,000 to $104,000+ USD

The person standing beside a driver in the garage is often described as a trainer, but the role can cover much more than workouts.

A driver performance coach may manage strength and conditioning, warmups, hydration, nutrition, sleep, recovery, heat preparation, travel routines, and physical treatment. Depending on the arrangement, the coach may have a background in physiotherapy, sports science, strength coaching, or several of those areas.

On race day, the goal is not to make the driver stronger. That work happened weeks and months earlier. The goal is to help the driver arrive at the cockpit physically ready and mentally settled.

The coach may monitor food and fluid intake, guide a warmup, stretch tight areas, prepare cooling equipment, and help the driver recover after the race. At hot events, hydration and core temperature become especially important. During a long season, the coach also helps manage jet lag and accumulated fatigue.

Pay varies widely because some coaches are team employees while others work directly for a driver or through a private performance company. A coach with elite-sport experience, physiotherapy credentials, and a long-term relationship with a leading driver may earn more than the estimate above.

Why F1 salaries are difficult to confirm

Unlike driver contracts, most team salaries are not heavily reported. Even when a figure appears online, it may leave out important details:

• Seniority and years of F1 experience

• Bonuses and championship incentives

• Travel allowances and overtime arrangements

• Private contracts with a driver rather than the team

• Whether the job is factory-based, traveling, or both

• Management responsibilities beyond the job title

Titles are not perfectly consistent either. One team’s “performance engineer” may handle work divided between two people elsewhere. A strategy engineer may support live decisions without being the final person who makes the call.

That is why a realistic range is more honest than pretending every race engineer or mechanic earns the same number.

The surprising truth about working in F1

F1 is the highest level of motorsport, but that does not mean everyone in the garage earns a celebrity salary.

Many employees accept long hours, constant travel, intense pressure, and fierce competition because working in F1 is the career they spent years chasing. The sport can attract talented people even when another engineering, software, or healthcare job might offer similar pay with fewer weekends away.

What they receive in return is rare: the chance to see their work compete in front of millions of people.

When a strategy call works, a wheel change is clean, or a setup adjustment gives the driver confidence, the result belongs to far more than the name on the timing screen.

The driver may take the checkered flag, but race day is a team sport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do F1 pit crew members earn extra money for pit stops?

Usually, pit-stop duties are part of a traveling mechanic or technician’s wider job. Former Red Bull mechanic Calum Nicholas has said mechanics were not paid extra simply for being on the pit crew.

What is the highest-paid engineering job on an F1 race team?

Senior technical leaders, department heads, chief engineers, and highly experienced race engineers can be among the best-paid technical employees. Exact salaries are rarely made public.

How do you become an F1 race engineer?

Most begin with an engineering degree and experience in lower racing categories, simulation, data analysis, vehicle dynamics, or performance engineering before moving into a lead trackside role.

Are F1 performance coaches employed by the team or driver?

Either arrangement is possible. Some work for a team, while others are contracted directly by an individual driver or supplied through a performance company.

Is an F1 pit crew a full-time standalone job?

Generally, no. Pit-crew members normally have full-time mechanical or technical roles and train for a specific pit-stop position alongside their regular responsibilities.