Max Verstappen speaks out after costing Red Bull record fee with 2023 success
Red Bull will have to front up in the region of £1,044,473 (€1,217,900) to pay Max Verstappen’s entry fee for the 2024 F1 season. This will be a record figure since the rule was introduced stating that each driver must pay a figure that varies depending on the number of points they accumulate in the previous season.
Every driver on the grid faces a minimum entry fee of £8,913 (€10,400) with an additional £1,800 (€2,100) added on for every individual point claimed throughout the previous campaign.
For Verstappen and Red Bull, this has proven to be a frustrating rule. The Dutchman recorded the most victories ever in a single F1 season, standing on the top step of the podium on 19 different occasions in 2023 on his way to a third successive Drivers’ Championship title. This meant that he picked up a record total of 575 points.
Thankfully for Verstappen, it is Red Bull who will be footing the bill. “The team pays that, fortunately,” he told Viaplay. “I do think there should be some normal ratio in that. But you know, things like that get written down, and I don’t think anybody expected that there would end up being that many points scored.”
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive F1 news.
Don’t miss… Red Bull make decision on signing Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes hit back at FIA[LATEST]
As well as guiding Verstappen to his third successive World Championship in record-breaking fashion, Red Bull also managed to see out their first-ever one-two finish in the Drivers’ Championship standings with Sergio Perez seeing off the threat of Lewis Hamilton to confirm second place.
Unfortunately for the Milton Keynes-based team, his haul of 285 points means that as well as the seven-figure sum they must stump up for Verstappen’s 2024 entry fee, they must also pay £521,831 (€608,900) to register their second driver.
More F1…
Helmut Marko explains reasons Hamilton will never join Verstappen at Red Bull[INSIGHT]
Verstappen told Norris will ‘surprise’ star at Red Bull as rumours persist[OPINION]
Horner breaks silence on Red Bull ‘power struggle’ rumours after Marko fears[COMMENT]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
Despite turning up at the season finale in Abu Dhabi with what was still comfortably the fastest car on the grid, team principal Christian Horner isn’t getting complacent heading into a critical winter of testing for the RB19’s successor.
“Nobody stands still,” Horner told Sky Sports News. “We’ve got a great basis, so it’s more evolution [of the car] than revolution. But I’m sure it’s going to converge a bit next year, so we can’t rest on our laurels. They are all great teams. McLaren’s form at the back end of the season, Ferrari, Mercedes. Those big teams are going to be coming out all guns blazing next year.”
Source: Read Full Article
