Why F1 Drivers, Except Charles Leclerc, Have to Pay at Least $548K to Live in Monaco

Monaco has become home to many F1 drivers over the years for several reasons — the most obvious one is that the principality is a tax haven. Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, and most other drivers from the current grid reside there.

Even former drivers like Nico Rosberg, Daniel Ricciardo, and David Coulthard have been Monaco residents for years. What they all have in common is the financial means to live there, because unless you can prove you’re rich enough, you can’t get clearance to reside in Monaco.

For F1 drivers, that isn’t an issue, as most of them earn millions of dollars in salaries alone, aside from their sponsorship and endorsement deals. However, they still have to do something in particular to get the green light from the authorities.

F1 photographer Kym Illman revealed that drivers must deposit money in the range of $548,000 (€500,000) to $3.83 million (€3.5 million) as proof of their wealth. But there’s more to it.

Illman’s Instagram video featured an individual, who appears to be a Monegasque public official, stating the other conditions an F1 driver must meet to attain residency in Monaco.

“In order to become [a] tax resident in Monaco, a pilot [driver] must really live in Monaco,” he stated. “His personal life must be in Monaco – wife, kids, etc.”

Nico Hulkenberg, for instance, meets these criteria perfectly. He lives in an apartment in Monaco with his wife, daughter, and dog.

Also, with F1 drivers being on the road for almost nine months of the year, it’s difficult for them to stay in Monaco full-time. So, there are additional criteria that help them become eligible for residency. Illman explained that the rule is that their “economic activities” must be based in Monaco.

“If they live in Monaco, have started companies in Monaco, or relocated their families, they’d likely qualify as tax-free,” he said.

However, none of these conditions are applicable to Charles Leclerc. Being a Monegasque by birth, Leclerc has his family based in Monaco, and he grew up there as a native citizen.

 

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However, being a Monegasque, the Ferrari driver faces one restriction in the principality.

Leclerc can’t gamble in Monaco

Besides being a tax haven for F1 drivers and many other millionaire businessmen and wealthy individuals, Monaco has also become a renowned hub for casinos. Rich people from around the world visit them throughout the year to indulge in gambling.

However, native Monegasques are not allowed to enter the casinos and gamble. This is a rule the country’s authorities have created to ensure their original citizens do not lose their wealth. In Leclerc’s biography by Adam Hay-Nicholls, they elaborated on this rule.

“It [the rule] was built in 1865 to save the ruling House of Grimaldi [Monaco’s royal family] from bankruptcy. To this day, the 8000 Monegasque among the country’s 40,000 residents are forbidden from entering the casino’s gaming rooms,” wrote Hay-Nicholls.

So, even if Leclerc wishes to try his luck at the roulette tables in the casinos that operate just a few minutes away from his house, he cannot.