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Written by David Skilling
Max Verstappen recently committed his future to Red Bull until the end of 2030, with reports suggesting the four-time Formula One world champion could earn as much as $110 million a year, including bonuses.
The exact figure hasn’t been confirmed, but the estimate places Verstappen among the best-paid athletes in world sport. It would put his annual earnings from Red Bull in the same territory as the largest contracts in football, basketball and American football.
Verstappen is an incredible driver, and much of his value comes from being one of the few people capable of changing the competitive direction of an entire sport. He has won four world titles and 71 races since joining Red Bull in 2016, but the team have struggled under Formula One’s new regulations and is yet to win this season. Until last week, there was a genuine possibility that he could leave.
A transfer to Mercedes or McLaren would have done more than give one team a better driver. It could have forced an established name out of their seat, encouraged other drivers to reconsider their futures and created vacancies throughout the grid. Formula One calls this period “silly season”, when a single decision can shape the careers of drivers up and down the paddock.
Red Bull have effectively paid to remove that uncertainty. Formula One teams operate under a cost cap that limits much of their spending, but driver salaries are exempt from it. Red Bull can’t spend another $100 million developing a faster car, but it can use its financial strength to prevent Verstappen from taking his ability and commercial value to a rival.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff had publicly pursued Verstappen after Lewis Hamilton decided to join Ferrari, but now says he isn’t disappointed by the new deal. Mercedes have since developed a strong driver line-up of their own, while former world champion Nico Rosberg has suggested Verstappen’s talks with other teams may largely have strengthened his negotiating position with Red Bull.
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Whatever options were genuinely available, Verstappen held all the leverage. Red Bull is rebuilding under new leadership; their car isn’t as dominant as it once was, and the driver had performance clauses in his previous agreement that could have allowed him to leave before its 2028 end date. Paying him more and extending the relationship gives the team stability at a moment when very little else is guaranteed.
The expected movement at the top of Formula One now looks much less dramatic. Verstappen is staying at Red Bull, Mercedes are committed to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, and McLaren already have two leading drivers in Oscar Piastri and reigning world champion Lando Norris. Rather than entering a period of major transfers, the leading teams are trying to secure what they already have.
Norris is expected to be the next beneficiary as McLaren are reportedly preparing an extension that could keep him with the team beyond 2030, even though his current contract runs through 2027 with an option for another year. Any new agreement is expected to include a substantial pay rise, and I’m sure his agent will be using Max’s deal as a benchmark.
McLaren’s interest goes beyond protecting a championship-winning driver. Norris entered its development programme at 17, and stayed through years when it couldn’t consistently compete at the front. He has since become one of the sport’s most recognisable personalities while helping McLaren return to winning championships.
Keeping him beyond 2030 would turn the relationship into one of the longest in modern Formula One. Verstappen could complete 15 seasons at Red Bull if he reaches the end of his new agreement, while Norris would pass 12 at McLaren. For comparison, Lewis Hamilton spent 12 seasons racing for Mercedes before leaving for Ferrari.
These commitments have become quite unusual across elite sport, when you consider football’s top players change clubs regularly, NBA players use free agency to reshape teams and even established NFL quarterbacks rarely spend an entire career with one organisation. Formula One’s leading drivers are moving in the opposite direction, signing contracts that make them inseparable from the teams they represent. Which isn’t that surprising when there are only a handful of genuine championship contenders.
The anticipated driver-market drama may have disappeared, but the money tells a revealing story. Red Bull and McLaren are investing in the competitive stability, commercial identity and global recognition that only a handful of athletes can provide. And while F1 drivers are having a global popularity resurgence, they have become prized assets that teams will pay incredible sums to keep hold of.
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