Although it is not official, there has been talk for a long time that Formula 1 can impose a limit of 30 million dollars in salary (just over 28 million euros) between the two drivers of each team.
It’s also unclear how exactly it would affect those who already have signed long-term contracts, especially Verstappen , whose deal with Red Bull runs until 2028.
Asked about the possibility of introducing a cap, Max Verstappen said it made no sense now that the series is in a healthy state financially and teams are generating significant income from both sponsorship and F1’s own prize fund.
“Everything is still a bit up in the air, isn’t it?” he said when asked about the cap. “I think no one really knows where it’s going to go.”
“But from my point of view, it’s completely wrong, because I think at the moment, F1 is becoming more and more popular, and everyone is making more and more money, including the teams and FOM. Everything the world benefits.”
“So why would there be a cap on pilots with their intellectual property rights and everything, being really the ones who bring the show and put our lives on the line? Because in the end it’s what we do. So for me, it’s completely wrong”.
Verstappen stressed that entrepreneurs or managers might be reluctant to invest in young talent if they know the potential long-term benefits will be lower.
“In all the lower categories, if you see how many of those drivers have a sponsor, or an endorsement, that will ultimately take a certain percentage of their income in F1 or wherever they race, I think it’s going to limit that a lot, because they’ll never get it back. all the money”.
“And if you put a cap on it, it will hurt all the lower categories as well. And I don’t think you want to do that.”
Norris, who has a long-term contract with McLaren, agreed that it could affect the careers of the young drivers.
“I think what Max has said is correct,” said Lando Norris, sitting next to him at the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP press conference. “And especially with the investment in young drivers part. It’s hard enough to get into F1. So when you have backing or someone invests in you, they obviously want their money back at some point.
“And if you put a limit and so on, it’s a lot more difficult or it’s going to be a lot less interesting for people to invest in young drivers and to invest in young people having opportunities to get into F1. So I think that’s one of the main points. “, he sentenced.
