Reportedly paid $70 million by Red Bull last season, bonuses included, Max Verstappen was coy when quizzed about his earnings as Formula 1’s best-paid driver.
Back in March 2022, Red Bull announced their newly minted World Champion had signed a bumper new contract and would remain at the team until 2028.
The five-year extension was said to be worth $45 million a year, eclipsing seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton’s reported $35m Mercedes pay cheque.
Max Verstappen was 2023’s biggest winner
But it’s the reported bonuses that exponentially set the two champions apart.
Winning 19 Grands Prix, taking 21 podiums, and wrapping up a third Drivers’ Championship title last season, Verstappen’s end-of-year package is rumoured to have set Red Bull back a hefty – but worthwhile – $70 million in total.
And according to Forbes, Hamilton, who didn’t win a Grand Prix in 2023 which extended his winless streak to 45 races, didn’t receive any bonuses from Mercedes.
Max Verstappen, though, has refused to confirm or deny his whopping 2023 pay cheque.
“Maybe. I’m not sure,” he told The Times with a smile.
A Formula 1 driver since the 2015 season when he joined Toro Rosso as a Red Bull junior, Verstappen has not only emerged as one of the sport’s most successful drivers but also one of the richest.
With his 54 Grand Prix wins and 98 podiums leading to three World titles, he is tied for third on the official list for the most F1 World Championships.
It has seen his net worth grow to $164 million, that’s according to Dutch magazine Quote.
With his future, at least financially sorted, the 26-year-old has stated many a time his current Red Bull deal could be his last Formula 1 contract.
After all, it is a dangerous sport, although he tries not to think about that.
“I’m aware of the dangers,” he says. “But I try not to think about that too much.
“You cannot be afraid in a car. If you’re afraid in a racing car, it’s just not going to work out.”
Asked if he ever feels fear, he replied: “I don’t really like snakes.
“You wouldn’t see me putting a snake around me just for fun. Big hairy spiders, I really don’t like. Sharks, I don’t like sharks. So you won’t see me swimming two kilometres or whatever off the coast in certain countries.”
