Max Verstappen (Credits: Red Bull Twitter)
The defending World Champion signed a 5-year deal extending his previous contract which ran till 2023
Max Verstappen joined Red Bull in 2016. His previous contract ran till 2023 but both parties were keen to continue their association with each other. The new contract will see Verstappen earn US$ 53.3 million a year making him the joint highest-paid F1 driver on par with Lewis Hamilton. Both Verstappen and Red Bull boss, Christian Horner sounded very happy with the contract extension.
Speaking about the new contract, Verstappen said, “I really enjoy being part of Red Bull racing, so choosing to stay till the 2028 season was an easy decision.”
The 24-year old further added, “I love this team and last year was simply incredible. Our goal since we came together in 2016 was to win the Championship and we have done that, so it’s now about keeping the number one on the car long-term.”
Meanwhile, the Red Bull boss was very happy to have secured the services of the driver for five more years. Christian Horner said, “To have Max signed with Red Bull through to ’28 is a real statement of intent. Our immediate focus is on retaining Max’s world championship title but the deal also shows he is part of the team’s long term planning.”
The deal makes Verstappen the joint-highest paid driver in F1. Sport is unpredictable and in a sport like F1 the uncertainty is even more. A lot of external things influence the driver’s performance besides his own skillset. Longevity is a question and Verstappen secured a shrewd deal with good terms which keeps him in a safe place in the long term.
Like Verstappen said, he feels at home at Red Bull having been with the team for 6 years and has definitely developed a comfort zone with team members – so it was an “easy decision” for him.
Looking at the deal from Red Bull’s point of view they would be very happy to hold onto Verstappen and see off potential offers from rivals like Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.
Verstappen is the hottest property in F1 right now with Lewis Hamilton in the twilight of his career. The Dutch is expected to dominate podiums for a long time ahead and that’s it was inevitable that he would receive lucrative offers from the top teams once he got closer to the end of his contract. Therefore, Red Bull didn’t waste any time extending his contract even though there were two more seasons remaining from the previous contract.
A team like Red Bull always aims to win and who better than Verstappen to guarantee them certainty!
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