7. Daniel Ricciardo ($6 million)
Daniel Ricciardo is an Australian race car driver. He is currently competing in F1 for Infiniti Red Bull Racing. He signed up with the team as Mark Webber’s replacement. The fellow Aussie driver announced his retirement from Formula 1 in 2013.
His current teammate is the youngest F1 race winner, Max Verstappen. This definitely gives Ricciardo a new level of pressure since he is supposed to be the number one driver in the team.
Ricciardo attained his first win at the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix by overtaking Nico Rosberg on lap 68 of 70. In his first season with Red Bull, Ricciardo finished third in the championship. The team granted him a $6 million annual paycheck.
In spite of his blooming career, Ricciardo is currently having a hard time with his team. After he felt disadvantaged by the team’s decision in this year’s Spanish Grand Prix, yesterday’s pit failure brought him more disappointment. We’ll see how he handles this on the next race.
