Verstappen sees salary cap scheme for F1 drivers currently ‘completely wrong’

Max Verstappen is against plans to set salaries for Formula 1 drivers. Talks are underway between the championship organization and the teams, with a proposal to provide $30 million (€28 million) for two drivers on the table. Verstappen believes this plan is “completely wrong”.

“Sports are becoming more popular, everyone is making more money,” Verstappen responded to plans in Azerbaijan on Friday. “Teams, Formula 1 itself, everyone benefits. Why should the drivers who put in the show and put their lives on the line be restricted?” The World Cup leader asked.

Drivers’ salaries are currently still outside the budget cap that teams have to stick to. This is capped at 138 million euros.

In order to further reduce costs in the sport, according to the sport’s regulation, there must also be a limit to what drivers can earn. Salaries have also been restricted in other sports, such as the NBA.

“No one knows where this plan is heading now.”

It does not currently appear that a salary cap will soon be introduced in Formula 1. In Monaco, several team bosses have already announced that the intention will in no way affect the drivers’ existing contracts. “It’s a bit vague, no one knows where this plan is going now,” Limberger himself said on Friday.

The agreement Verstappen signed with Red Bull earlier this year will run until the end of 2028. The Dutchman’s salary is not public, but it is reported that it is already above the $30 million a year that teams will be allowed to spend on both drivers in the future.

dishonest to patrons

According to Verstappen, the salary cap would also be unfair to sponsors who support drivers from the entry-level classes. “They are investing money to get some of it back if a driver makes it to Formula 1,” the world champion said. “But with a salary cap, they’re not going to get their full investment back. It’s going to affect all the smaller categories, so you shouldn’t want to.”

Verstappen isn’t the only driver against the salary cap. Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Fernando Alonso also spoke out against the proposed plans.