There are very few teams on the grid who wouldn’t swap either of their drivers for Max Verstappen right now. The Dutchman is currently exerting a historic level of dominance over the sport.
Verstappen won 19 races in 2023, the most in a single season in F1 history. His margin of victory in the championship (290 points) was also the largest ever.
And ominously, it looks as if he could produce similar numbers this year. Either side of a mechanical retirement at the Australian Grand Prix, he’s claimed four comfortable victories.
For Red Bull, this success inevitably comes at a price. According to Spotrac, Verstappen earns a staggering £848k per week under a contract that runs until the end of 2028.
For reference, Lewis Hamilton, the most successful driver F1 has ever seen, earns a shade under £700k at Mercedes. He is, it’s worth noting, making a blockbuster move to Ferrari for 2025.
Driver salaries are exempt from the F1 cost cap. But even the very wealthiest teams in the sport don’t have limitless resources they can devote to the duo behind the wheel.
Red Bull may not be able to afford one driver for 2025, says Ralf Schumacher
Speaking on Sky Germany, pundit and former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher said that Verstappen’s wages may put one of Red Bull’s targets beyond reach. Christian Horner and co. will currently be assessing possible replacements for Sergio Perez.
Perez knows that his seat is his to lose and has delivered three runner-up finishes in the first five races. But that won’t stop Red Bull from exploring their options.
One such candidate is Carlos Sainz, the victim of Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. Sainz started his career at Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso back in 2015, and director Helmut Marko says they will ‘have to’ consider bringing him back.
But the Spaniard apparently earns £184k a week, which would mean that Red Bull was shelling out more than £50m per year on its two drivers. In the eyes of Schumacher, that kind of situation isn’t feasible.
He said of a possible move for Sainz: “I think that Max’s relatively high salary means that the budget is a bit full as far as Red Bull is concerned.”
Will Carlos Sainz go back to Red Bull or join Audi?
With a return to McLaren off the table and Fernando Alonso committed to Aston Martin, Sainz knows that Red Bull are one of two teams who can offer a realistic short-term title shot. But that can’t be his only consideration.
He’ll also be wary of what could be an ‘impossible’ task against Verstappen, who has made the Red Bull team his own. That, indeed, may be why Daniel Ricciardo left in 2018, and why Perez can’t match him.
Sainz stacked up well against Verstappen at the start of their careers but beating the Dutchman a decade later is a completely different proposition. He may, however, draw confidence from his strong record against Charles Leclerc.
Sainz edged Leclerc in their first year together as teammates and finished only six points behind him last season. He’s only seven points adrift in 2024 despite missing the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix through illness.
As for the financial side of things, Sainz has demanded equal terms to George Russell in his negotiations with Mercedes. That suggests he’s ready to drive a hard bargain.
Audi are unlikely to attract two A-list drivers, and perhaps that’s why, according to Marko, they’ve blown their competitors out the water with their contract offer to Sainz. Martin Brundle says the German manufacturer are pressuring him to sign.
A number of teams may be waiting for a final decision from the 29-year-old before they confirm their line-ups. As the outstanding free agent on the market, he might well hold the key.
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