The end of a true-false suspense.
Dutchman Max Verstappen, reigning Formula 1 world champion, has extended his contract until 2028 with the Red Bull team, the team announced on Thursday.
Verstappen, whose contract was due to expire at the end of 2023, “
has signed a long-term contract extension which will keep the 24-year-old Dutch driver with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, exclusively, until the end of the year. 2028
,” Red Bull said in a statement.
“
I love this team and last year was just amazing, our target since we got together in 2016 was to win the championship and we did that so now it's about keeping number one on the car long term
“said the pilot, quoted in the press release.
To discover
Formula 1: manufacturers' classification
Formula 1: drivers classification
Max Verstappen driving his Red Bull last season LLUIS GENE / AFP
Read alsoVerstappen-Hamilton: the five dizzying acts of a legendary duel
A salary estimated at 50 million euros per season
According to information from the Dutch daily
De Telegraaf
published on Wednesday, Verstappen will become the highest paid F1 driver with "
an estimated salary of 50 million euros per season
".
His rival Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion under contract with Mercedes until the end of 2023, is currently the highest paid driver.
Eighth best-off athlete in the world in 2021 according to Forbes magazine, the Briton would receive 62 million dollars (54.8 million euros) just for his sports activities, including a fixed salary of 55 million (a little less than 50 million euros...).
Arrived in F1 in 2015 at 17 years old with Toro Rosso, the little sister of Red Bull, Verstappen was promoted during 2016, winning his first GP with Red Bull in Spain to become the youngest winner in history at 18 years 7 months and 15 days, among other earliness records.
He is also the youngest driver to have taken the start of a GP, to have scored points and to be on the podium.
Read alsoFormula 1: Max Verstappen, the consecration of a prodigy with a volcanic temperament
Having already participated in 141 Grands Prix, winner of ten of his twenty successes in 2021, the Belgian-Dutch (who plays under Dutch license but was born in Belgium) won his first world championship title last year against Hamilton , 37 years.
The 2022 season starts on March 20 in Bahrain after three days of testing on the Gulf Island (March 10-12).
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/2C5HI6YHNFHDLJSBNWHOIAS2AE.jpeg)
