The renewal of Max Verstappen with Red Bull until 2030 has ignited the Zandvoort paddock. A move of trust from the four-time world champion towards his team – described as a “second family” – but also towards Formula 1 in the hope that these regulations will have a short life and that it will be possible to return to more racing power units.
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Verstappen-Red Bull: not an easy negotiation
The negotiation was certainly not easy for Red Bull, with Verstappen able to leverage the now famous performance clause – which could have freed him from any commitment already at the end of 2026 – to secure significantly better financial terms.
In order to “soften” the exit conditions in favor of Verstappen, Red Bull put on the table a stratospheric and record-breaking financial offer, hardly matchable by any other team. This is proof of how Milton Keynes considers Max the central pillar of the technical department’s rebuilding project after the excellent departures of recent years.
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Frightening figures
Besides the expiration date, Red Bull has obviously not released further details on Max Verstappen’s new contract, but the paddock is already starting to talk about possible staggering figures. According to Marc Limacher, an authoritative source and author of the annual Business Book GP which covers the commercial aspects of Formula 1 – including drivers’ salaries – Verstappen will receive an annual salary of 92 million euros starting from 2027 (compared to the current 70), plus other bonuses that will allow him to reach 115 million euros per season.
If this is the case, the total amount for the next four years would allow the Dutchman to take home 460 million euros, almost half a billion. One more factor besides the welcome new internal team structure and the hope for new regulations, the only ones mentioned by Verstappen after the announcement.
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