Mercedes ‘to offer Max Verstappen £128 million per season. Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari salary’…
Max Verstappen is apparently going to get three times as much money from Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton is anticipated to get at Ferrari.
According to reports, Verstappen is still being connected to a shocking departure from Red Bull, and the Silver Arrows are reportedly considering making a bold approach for him. Verstappen’s long-term future with the current champions is further unknown in light of Adrian Newey’s recent announcement of his wish to quit Red Bull.
Though he has a contract that runs until the end of 2028, rumors have it that if Red Bull can’t work out their internal problems, he may try to go early. Mercedes, who are renowned for being huge fans of Verstappen, are apparently prepared to shell out a lot of money to hire him.
According to OE24, they’re preparing a record-breaking offer that would see the Dutchman pocket around £128million per season. This staggering figure would more than double Verstappen’s current salary at Red Bull, making him the highest-paid driver in F1 history by a significant margin. It would also mean the 26-year-old would earn nearly three times as much as Hamilton, who is set to receive a base salary of £43.6m per season at Ferrari.
It’s also believed Mercedes might try to woo Helmut Marko over to their side as part of a grand plan to make Max Verstappen feel right at home. Verstappen reportedly has a clause in his contract allowing him to depart Red Bull before 2028 if Marko leaves, reports the Express. Other reports also understand Mercedes and Verstappen could be set for a meeting at this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.
Toto Wolff, Mercedes team principal, isn’t exactly playing coy about his ambitions of signing Verstappen. At the start of the month, he said: “There’s so many factors that play a role for a driver joining. Clearly, when you look at it from the most rational point of view, you can say: ‘Well, that’s the quickest car in the hands of the quickest driver’.
“In that respect are we going to convince him? I don’t think it’s a matter of convincing. I think Max knows motor racing better than anyone and he will take decisions that he feels are good for him and I think a few factors play a role but he’s the one that’s going to trigger some more domino stones to fall afterwards.”
“Everybody’s waiting for what he’s going to be doing. If I was Max, I would stay at Red Bull for 2025, but I’m not Max. It is the quickest car, but there are other factors.”
