The huge riches Vettel has amassed - and is walking away from

The four-time world champion will retire from F1 at the end of the 2022 season, and will be replaced at Aston Martin by Fernando Alonso.

Vettel has amassed huge riches in his 15-season career but is choosing to walk away, at the age of 35, from even more.

He started earning major money in 2009, upon joining Red Bull. He finished second in his first season with the team then in 2010, when he won a world championship for the first time, he reportedly earned an €2m salary, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

That wasn’t even among the top 10 earners on the grid.

Vettel would win four championships in a row with Red Bull.

The same source estimates that his salary increased to €8m in 2011, €10m in 2012 and €12m in 2013.

In 2014, although he did not win the world championship, his pay rocketed to €22m, El Mundo reported.

Vettel replaced Fernando Alonso at Ferrari in 2015. His on-track fortunes would dwindle but his bank account fortune would soar.

He was being paid a reported €28m in his Ferrari debut campaign - Vettel was now the second-highest earner on the F1 grid behind Alonso.

He was ranked by Forbes as the 18th highest earning athlete in all of sports in 2017.

By 2018, although his luck with Ferrari did not improve, Forbes estimated that he was being paid €40m per season.

That decreased to €36m in his final campaign with Ferrari.

Vettel opted to take a pay cut to stay in F1 with Aston Martin in 2020 where he reportedly pockets £12.2m (€14.6m), making him the joint-fifth top earner of 2022.

That current contract expires at the end of this season and he opted to retire, rather than sign a new one-year deal, Spanish newspaper AS reported.

Vettel has also shunned many personal endorsements over the year which did not align to the beliefs which he has become so respected for.

He will retire as one of the most successful drivers of his era - and among the best paid.