Max Verstappen calls out his “absurd” $1 million FIA Super License fee

Motorsport is expensive. That much is beyond doubt. By and large, only well-off people can afford to compete in it, at least until they are at a level where they can afford sponsors. If you reach Formula 1, affordability is less of a problem, as you’ll earn a considerable amount too. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the potential to be expensive. Particularly with the Super License fees. The more successful you are, the more you have to pay, as Max Verstappen knows.

The Dutchman was the outstanding driver on the grid – he scored 146 more points than anyone else and won 15 races in all – 12 more than anyone else. No one could consistently match him, or for the most part, even get particularly close. But this success had a literal cost. His 454 points meant he, or rather as per his contract, the team had to pay €963,800, roughly equivalent to 1,028,988 dollars. The base fee is €10,400, and €2,100 is added per point scored.

So while Verstappen gets a respite from that due to his contract, Red Bull don’t. He does admit that the fee is an ‘absurd amount’. As per Motorsport-Total.com, he said: “I find the sum absurd. I don’t think it’s right that we have to pay so much. That’s not the case in other sports either. And there are more and more races.” Indeed there are: If the Chinese GP wasn’t canceled, then the 2023 season would have 24 races. But even 23 races is a lot.

Read More: Max Verstappen has to pay more than $1,00,000 for his record-breaking score in the F1 2022 season

Red Bull (excluding Max Verstappen’s fee) had to pay $6,242,636 to the FIA

Max Verstappen had an almost absurdly successful year, and so did Red Bull. While the Dutchman’s license fees amount to over a million dollars, Red Bull themselves have to pay a fee. The basic entry fee is $617, 687, then an additional $7,411 for each point scored. That amounts to $6,242,636 – and then they had to pay Verstappen’s fee on top of that. It is not known if Sergio Perez’s contract also carries such a clause.

But as mentioned before, Red Bull carried the cost for Verstappen, according to Helmut Marko. The Austrian said: “I’m afraid we’ll have to pay if I have our contract in mind.” If the team have to pay for Perez as well ($695,800~), then Red Bull’s fee to the FIA will amount to $7,967,424, due to their immense success in 2022. Without Perez, it’s roughly $7,271,624.

In any case, it’s a massive amount, and it will increase in the future. In the 2023 season, there will be 23 race weekends. But there’ll also be 6 sprint races, which means more points are available – and in turn, a higher fee.

In case you missed it:

• “The whole country is behind him,” Nyck de Vries applauds ‘dominating’ Max Verstappen
• “Already achieved everything I wanted,” Max Verstappen drops a hint on his F1 retirement timeline

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