Max Verstappen’s 2022 success appears to come at an astronomical price for Red Bull, with the Dutchman having been slapped with the highest-ever bill for an F1 Super Licence.
Each year, a driver has to pay a fee to enter the following campaign, with that fee being determined by a base sum plus a certain value per point scored in the championship that season.
Given that Verstappen claimed 454 points in 2022 on his way to a second consecutive Drivers’ Championship, it should come as no shock that the bill he received for 2023 is the biggest in the sport’s history.
The bill for Verstappen came out at a whopping €963,800, whilst Vice-Champion Charles Leclerc is having to pay €657,200, according to Servus TV.
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Verstappen’s team-mate, Sergio Pérez, is having to pay similar to Leclerc, given that he ended the year just three points behind the Monegasque driver.
Checo’s bill is believed to be 650,900, whilst Lewis Hamilton is having to pay just over €500,000.
Despite the astronomical fee, Verstappen isn’t actually going to pay for it himself, with Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko under the impression that the team will have to pay the bill.
“As far as I know,” Marko said, “his contract states that we have to pay it.”
It marks an expensive end to 2022 for Red Bull, with the team also having to pay an entry fee for next season based on their Constructors’ Championship points.
With that in mind, Red Bull are set to pay more than $6 million for their own entry next season, meaning that with the budget cap fine and the drivers entry fees, the Austrians are set to part ways with almost €15 million.
“I didn’t realise how much we had to pay the FIA for the points,” Christian Horner said.
Four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel is certainly not a fan of the FIA’s entry fees, with the now retired German labelling the situation as “absurd”.
“Absurd,” Vettel stated.
“I don’t know how common that is in other sports.
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“And there are always more and more races but nobody talks about that.”
Whilst the fee is huge for the Milton Keynes-based side, they are likely to make more than the fee from their success in 2022, a year which saw Verstappen claim the Drivers’ Championship with ease.
It also can’t be forgotten that Red Bull’s Constructors’ Championship was their first since 2013, highlighting the end of a nine-year wait.