The Forbes list has Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third with annual earnings of $24m [£19.5m] and Lando Norris of McLaren fourth on $20m [£16.24m].

Carlos Sainz of Ferrari ranks fifth and only then do we find Perez, whose salary is measured by Forbes at $10m [£8.12m], well short of Verstappen.

Max Verstappen’s commanding lead in the Formula One drivers’ championship is reflected in the Forbes F1 salary list with his earnings placed at $55million [£44.65m] a year

Verstappen’s salary comes in at over five times that of his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez

Lewis Hamilton sits second on the Forbes ranking with a salary at Mercedes of $35million

Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising given the Dutchman’s commanding lead at the top of the drivers’ championship this year.

Verstappen, with 12 race wins this season, has 374 points to the 223 of Perez, who won races in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan in the early rounds of the campaign.

The reigning champion Verstappen since racked up 10 consecutive race wins, breaking Sebastian Vettel’s record, before Sainz claimed victory at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

There’s almost a similar disparity between Mercedes team-mates Hamilton and George Russell, with the younger driver earning $8m [£6.5m], according to Forbes.

Those lower down the grid generally earn in the $1m-$2m bracket.

Back in May, Forbes ranked Verstappen as the third highest-paid athlete under the age of 25, with his total income – also taking into account endorsements and bonuses – valued at $64m [£52m].

He came in behind French footballer Kylian Mbappe, who makes $120m [£97.4m] and NFL player Kyler Murray on $70m [£56.8m].

The Formula One season moves on to Suzuka in Japan this weekend as Verstappen aims to take another step towards his third consecutive title.

George Russell of Mercedes earns $8million a year, according to the Forbes list

Carlos Sainz, who won the last F1 race in Singapore, comes in fifth on the salary list

Formula One driver salaries

Source: Forbes via Marca

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – $55m

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – $35m

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – $24m

Lando Norris (McLaren) – $20m

Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – $12m

Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – $10m

Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) – $10m

George Russell (Mercedes) – $8m

Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – $6m

Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – $5m

Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – $5m

Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – $5m

Alex Albon (Williams) – $3m

Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – $2m

Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – $2m

Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) – $2m

Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – $2m

Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) – $1m

Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri) – $1m

Logan Sergeant (Williams) – $1m