Max Verstappen has reportedly signed a new multi-year contract that will make him one of the highest-paid drivers on the Formula One grid and keep him at Red Bull beyond 2023.
According to the Daily Mail and Dutch publication De Telegraaf, the deal is set to pay Verstappen approximately $53.3 million, putting him in the same conversation as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen, 24, won his first world championship last season by outlasting Hamilton in a thrilling winner-take-all race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. After coming out on top in the controversial duel, he said he wanted to stay with Red Bull for life.
The new deal will last well beyond when Verstappen’s previous contract was set to expire at the end of the 2023 F1 season. An extension will also end any speculation that the Dutch driver may switch teams, although the prospect of him jumping ship from Red Bull seemed increasingly unlikely in recent years.
Last month, Red Bull inked a massive deal of their own, announcing a new title sponsorship with Oracle. The team received a huge financial boost from the partnership believed to be worth approximately $300 million over the next five years.
With a contract extension of his own now out of the way, Verstappen will look to begin his title defense at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 20.
