To date, Max Verstappen is the only driver in the history of Formula 1 who has signed a contract valid for the following seven seasons, something that has been surprising for the vast majority of experts.
Looking back, the Dutchman himself had a clause that could have terminated his agreement with Red Bull throughout the 2019 season, as long as he had reached the summer break behind the top three in the drivers’ standings. .
However, the Dutchman reached the halfway point of the season in third position, behind Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. These clauses are usually common when a driver wants to ensure a competitive car and, on the other hand, the team accepts them when it has a solid enough base not to take too great a risk.
In the case of Verstappen , however, he has exceeded all possible technical expectations, because a contract duration of seven years is, realistically, too long term for any forecast, even if it appears to be the best project in history.
According to several managers who have been working in the Formula 1 paddock for years, the renewal between Verstappen and Red Bull should have been for two years, with an extension that would last until the end of the 2025 season, that is, just before the new cycle. technician who will see the arrival of a new generation of power units.
Ultimately, all of those predictions have been proven flatly wrong. But the question that arises is why Verstappen and Red Bull have signed such an extensive agreement.
Why does a driver, especially a star like Verstappen, feel the need to prolong his relationship with a team for so long? In the past this has never happened, but now there seems to be a reason for it, and that is the danger of the possible introduction of a budget cap system for drivers as well .
The issue of “salaries” has been on the agenda of the top flight for about two years, but at the moment the talks between the teams and the FIA are at a standstill. However, it is believed that within a couple of seasons, the financial regulations could introduce a new salary cap that only affects drivers, placing a figure that each team can exceed when signing a contract with a driver.
If this rule is applied, Verstappen (and all those drivers whose contracts expire after the date of entry into force of the regulations) will be exempt from such limits, since they will not be able to renegotiate contracts already signed.
Verstappen has thus secured one of the highest salaries in history (about 50 million) until 2028, while Red Bull is certain that no rival team will be able to offer Max a salary equivalent to the one already signed.
On the other hand, if Verstappen decides to leave Red Bull before the deadline, he will lose a significant part of his salary as long as the salary cap for drivers comes into force, a deterrent that will allow Helmut Marko to sleep peacefully for years to come. .
