Verstappen, whose contract was due to expire at the end of 2023, “signed a long-term contract renewal that will keep the 24-year-old Dutch driver with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team until the end of 2028,” Red Bull said in a statement.
An “easy” decision for the driver: “I love this team and last year was just incredible, our goal since we got together in 2016 was to win the World Championship and we have achieved it, so now it’s about keeping the number one over the car for a long time,” the driver said, quoted in a statement.
For the boss of the Red Bull team, Christian Horner, it is “a true declaration of intent”.
“Our immediate goal is to retain Max’s world championship title, but this deal also shows that he is part of the team’s long-term planning,” he said.
RIVALRY WITH HAMILTON
According to information from the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf published this Wednesday, Verstappen will become the highest paid F1 driver with an “estimated salary of 50 million euros (about 55 million dollars) per season”.
His rival Lewis Hamilton, seven times world champion and with a contract with Mercedes until the end of 2023, is so far the highest paid driver. The Briton would be pocketing 62 million dollars (54.8 million euros) just for his sports activity, with a fixed salary of 55 million dollars (slightly less than 50 million euros).
The same Lewis Hamilton whom Verstappen overtook in the World Championship in December during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix -the last of the season- in a final lap as exciting as it was controversial.
The race director decided to restart the race on the last lap, after a neutralization due to the presence of the safety car.
This gave Verstappen the opportunity to overtake Hamilton and win his first F1 world championship title.
The entrance Verstappen, Red Bull driver until 2028 was first published in diary TODAY.
