Max Verstappen has signed up to spend the best part of the remainder of his career at Red Bull for a basic salary approaching £70million a year.
The four-time world champion could earn more if the team succeeds in coming seasons. With win bonuses, his earnings would reach in excess of £100million per annum, a figure that puts him on the same footing as Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari, still Formula One’s top earner at the age of 41.
The arrangement keeps the Dutchman, 28, where he is for the next four years, extending his deal beyond 2028, his previous contract, which he previously said would be his last one.
The news comes ahead of Verstappen’s home race in the Netherlands this weekend in Zandvoort and ends interest from McLaren who were tempted by his services, as were long-time suitors Mercedes, though that dried up after the emergence of championship-leader Kimi Antonelli, the Italian wonderkid who looks likely to represent their future.
Verstappen, as revealed by Daily Mail Sport, spoke face-to-face with McLaren team principal Zak Brown in June, but the American decided to remain loyal to his world champion Lando Norris and Australian Oscar Piastri. Nor did Brown think Verstappen would quite work out there.
In truth, Verstappen wanted to remain loyal to the family that nurtured his talent, and gave him his debut at Toro Rosso, their feeder team, as a 17-year-old phenomenon.
Max Verstappen attends the announcement of his new contract at Red Bull ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend
Under the terms of his new deal, Verstappen could earn in excess of £100million a year
There were no options that held appeal in the end, and he did not much fancy Ferrari, in truth, with all its unpredictabilities.
The development also put an end to speculation that Verstappen might quit Formula One altogether, disgruntled as he is by the sport’s controversial move to half-electric engines this year.
However, it is understood that he retains a right to quit the sport, under various performance clauses, should Red Bull fail to meet his expectations over the next few years.
Verstappen revealed: ‘After the first few races, I said to Laurent (Mekies, Red Bull team principal, who took over from Christian Horner last year): “Don’t come to me with any kind of questions about the future because I don’t even know if I want to stay.”
‘Honestly, we always kept it very open.’
Verstappen and Mekies maintain very good relations, despite some friction in negotiations with Red Bull’s top brass in Salzburg, the parent soft drinks company.
Verstappen’s astute agent Raymond Vermeulen told them that his man was invaluable to them. They told him that without Red Bull, Max would not have achieved the success he has. Both of which arguments are true, though Red Bull knocked back the biggest of their star man’s pay demands.
‘He’s a lot more than the fastest driver in the world for us,’ said Red Bull principal Laurent Mekies (left) of Verstappen. ‘He’s the central point of the team’
Verstappen’s pedigree is beyond doubt as a four-time world champion and 71-time race winner
Verstappen, a 71-time race winner, added: ‘Even if I’m not entirely happy with how the package is, I still love racing. This is still the pinnacle of motorsport, so I still want to be here.
‘I was closer to retiring than changing teams.’
Red Bull boss Mekies, for whom Verstappen’s re-signing is a major coup and which buttresses his position a year into the job, said: ‘He’s a lot more than the fastest driver in the world for us.
‘He’s the central point of the team. He’s one we always refer to for all the strategic decisions we are making, and to know that he’s going to be with us in order to build that next winning cycle is phenomenal.’
