A victim of his success. Red Bull must pay nearly €7 million to allow Max Verstappen (26) to race in Formula 1 again next year. A record that builds on the success of last season – a year in which the world champion was more dominant than usual. Verstappen has previously described the matter as ridiculous, while Horner has spoken of a “very big cheque”.
Every year, Formula 1 teams must pay a registration fee to participate in the new season. This amount must be transferred to the FIA bank account immediately after the end of the last race of the last season. This time, the deadline is December 10 – and we still have one week to go.
The amount is not chosen randomly. Since 2013, the amount to be paid depends on the number of points scored in the previous year. The better the performance, the more the team will struggle at the end of the season to get going the following year. Ten years ago, a flat fee of $500,000 was introduced plus $5,000 for each point scored. Today a large portion has been added. Each team must pay $657,837 (607,000 euros). For every point achieved, an additional $6,575 (€6,063) is added. Unless you are a champion builder. Then it is $7,893 (€7,278) per point.
“silly”
This means that Red Bull must transfer a record sum to the FIA. A victim of his success. They have won at least 21 of the 22 races, with world champion Max Verstappen the biggest winner of course. Verstappen achieved a record 575 points. His teammate Sergio Perez scored 285 points in second place. In other words: 860 points in total. Since Red Bull became Constructors’ Champion, that means 860 times $7,893, or $6,787,980. Add $657,837 to the Fixed Amount and you arrive at $7,445,817 or €6,857,039.
The difference with other teams is huge. Mercedes and Ferrari will pay 3.1 and 3 million euros, respectively. Red Lantern Haas, which barely scored 12 points last season, is transferring €678,000 to the FIA.
Last year, Verstappen described this calculation method and the amount associated with it as “ridiculous”. “Actually, it’s a luxury issue,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said this week on Motorsport.com. “The bill is very high because we had a great season. But yes, it is a very big check that has to be turned over to the FIA.”
The FIA uses the money to develop the sport. Just think of the evolution of the halo, the cockpit protection that has proven its worth several times in recent years.
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