In reality F1 drivers get paid so so. Besides the Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso most of them make about $3-10 Million/ year within the smaller teams. Lewis Hamilton I think only got paid about $500K this year. But his salary will go up this coming year. There are some drivers are paid drivers, where they pay the teams.
I remember seeing a pay scale for Jeff Gordon and he gets paid with endorsments is somewhere around 40-50 Million a year.
In the end it really depends how good your skills are, your marketability and which team you drive for dictates your salary.