Dutch journalist Erik van Haren has reported that Max Verstappen has agreed and is set to sign a new contract with Red Bull in the coming days.
Having won the championship in 2021, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko advised that the team would not be able to offer him the circa $54 million that Sir Lewis Hamilton is currently earning at Mercedes.
While this would appear true, it seems that the 24-year-old’s next contract could end up being worth around $250 million.
“Megadeal: Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing agree on new super contract,” van Haren tweeted.
The journalist, who is understood to be very close to the Verstappen family, then suggested that his compatriot’s new deal could well see him earn $50 million a year for the next four or five seasons.
“[The] World champion is expected to sign for four or five years. Sources in England speak of biggest deal in F1 history; $50 million per year,” he added.
The 20-time race winner’s current deal expires at the end of 2023, and includes a performance clause that allows him to leave if the Milton Keynes squad do not give him an adequately competitive car.
This was the predominant theme of 2019 when Red Bull were still working their way back to prominence but, following an intense season of racing against Hamilton and Mercedes last year, his father Jos revealed that he and his son had become disenfranchised with the idea of joining the Silver Arrows.
“There have been conversations with Toto Wolff and I also thought we had a good relationship with him, but the real Toto has shown himself lately,” he affirmed not long before the end of the 2021 season.
“There is no relationship anymore.”
He then went on to suggest that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is a “bad loser,” indicating that their relationship has completely broken down.
Verstappen devoted himself to his team in the aftermath of the chaotic 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where he won the title last year, saying he wants to stay with them for many years to come.