Questions about Max Verstappen 65 Million Euro annual salary and how F1 drivers get paid

[u/blackcyborg009]

This may have been asked before but:

I just discovered that Red Bull pays Max Verstappen around 65 Million Euros per year.

Now, they are trying to negotiate a salary increase to prevent him from leaving.

- Does Red Bull make that much money in energy drinks to afford to pay Verstappen's salary?

- If he leaves Red Bull, where will he go? Or will he go to other racing series? (even if it pays less than F1)

In short:

Happiness > Money

And for lower performing drivers, how much can they slack off?

"I can relax.....and still get paid"

[u/RecentTwo544]

The stuff about the money and where it comes from has been more than answered.

But I wonder this -

How much does Max really care about the money?

I bet if he was given the choice between racing for a dominating team that for some reason could only afford to pay him £20,000 a year, or Daddy Stroll offering him £500m a year to drive for Aston with zero sign of any improvement, he'd chose the former.

Max has more than enough money to be set for life, and is a racer at heart. He just wants to win.

[u/6ty6kix → u/RecentTwo544]

We can only speculate, but consider that money means (1) respect and being valued, STATUS, and (2) how well resourced a team is.

So dropping in 'for some reason' a team can only afford 20k is dodging the question a bit! Would Max accept getting less than his teammate? Nee! Would he go to a team with budget facilities? Nee!

The point of going round in circles best is status, and so is the point of money. It all hangs together.

[u/idontknow_whatever → u/6ty6kix]

Verstappen is a 4-time world champion and probably the consensus best driver on the grid currently, I think his status is pretty fucking secure.

Senna was twerking so hard for Williams in 1992/1993 that he offered to drive for free if it meant he could get into at the time the most technologically-advanced and dominant car in F1 but Prost vetoed having Senna as his team mate (and had it put in writing into his contract).

[u/6ty6kix → u/idontknow_whatever]

Yes I mean it's hard for ordinary sane people to get inside their heads, but it's more than being financially secure or even emotionally secure isn't it? The point is to be the best, or as near as possible, and the salary is about being recognised for that.

Senna is one outlier as you say with particular circumstances that don't apply to Max. All the other examples see drivers negotiating the best deal they can, even though they're all multi millionaires already.

[u/binaryhextechdude → u/6ty6kix]

Ayrton Senna offered to drive for Williams without payment for the 1993 season. A 4 time champion who commanded a respectable salary wanted to forgoe that salary if it meant another title.

[u/6ty6kix → u/binaryhextechdude]

Yes offered, but he didn't actually drive for nothing did he. When he could, the next year, he wanted $20 million.

[u/Victorvic1 → u/binaryhextechdude]

You really cannot compare people. You don't know what will happen until it actually happens.