Max Verstappen News: Red Bull Driver Complains About F1 Entry Fee Despite Being Highest Paid On The Grid
After a spectacular F1 season that saw Max Verstappen win the Drivers' Championship with an impressive 454 points and 15 race wins, he has been hit with an eye-watering €963,800 Super Licence fee for 2023. Talking to the press, the Red Bull driver has been quick to complain about this incredible expense.
This hefty sum is composed of a standard starter fee of €10,400 plus extra charges applied per point scored - making it easy to see how this astronomical number was reached. Understandably angry at having to pay such steep dues in order to participate again next year if no changes are made by the FIA governing body, Verstappen branded this amount as "absurd".
“I think the amount is absurd,” said Verstappen, according to Motorsport-Total.com. “I don’t think it’s right that we have to pay so much.
“That’s not the case in other sports either. And there are more and more races.”
Despite being one of the highest earning drivers on the F1 grid in 2022, Max Verstappen's hefty Super Licence fee for 2023 would be no easy cost to bear - but luck is on his side.
According to Helmut Marko, advisor and driver programme boss at Red Bull Racing Team, it appears that they are paying out this costly fee as per his contract:
“I’m afraid we have to pay that, if I have our contract right in my head,” Marko told the press.
Nico Hulkenberg, Oscar Piastri, and Logan Sargeant are the only three to pay the fixed fee of €10,400 thanks to them being new to the sport this season. But at the other end of the spectrum, Verstappen will be paying €963,800, with Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez following him with payments of €657,200 and €650,900 respectively.
Max was the highest paid driver in 2022 with his contract totalling a reported $60 million. And while he knows how to spend his money - Verstappen's car collection is vast and brilliant - he's obviously not willing to make stupid decisions with it.