The huge price of Max Verstappen’s winless streak revealed
Max Verstappen went through a mid-season dip in performance for Red Bull, but still took home the title.
Max Verstappen’s ongoing winless streak is costing him a pretty penny as the driver is reportedly losing $1 million with every Sunday that goes by without a Grand Prix win.
Last season the Red Bull driver scored big when it came to not only his salary but also his bonuses thanks to his record-breaking 19 wins in a single season.
Max Verstappen’s F1 2024 bonus package has taken a hit
While his base salary was a reported $45m, he added a whopping $25m in bonuses thanks to his victories and his third Drivers’ Championship title.
This season that bonus figure is a lot less as Verstappen has managed just seven wins in 18 races, and currently sits on a seven-race winless streak.
According to former F1 driver turned pundit Ralf Schumacher, that’s costing him dearly.
“It is believed that he loses a million for every race he doesn’t win,” he told Sky Deutschland. “That is unbelievable.
“He was so successful last year and that is a lot of money that he is missing out on, in addition to the fact that things are no longer going well in terms of sport.”
It’s also hurting Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship as while last season Verstappen’s points alone were enough to beat Mercedes to the title, today they trail the two-car scoring McLaren team by 20 points.
F1 2024 contracts and salaries
👉 F1 driver contracts: What is the contract status of every driver on the 2024 grid?
👉 F1 2024 driver salaries revealed: Who are the highest-paid drivers on the grid?
Verstappen, though, could end that winless streak in Singapore on Sunday as he’ll line up P2 behind Lando Norris on the grid and the latter has yet to lead a first lap when he starts from pole.
“I think for us in qualifying it all worked quite well, so I was happy with that. And yeah, here we are, second,” he said.
“Of course, bit difficult to say [if we can win]. Singapore, a lot of things can happen, but at least we have a shot at it like this.”
He, however, concedes Red Bull’s balance issues that have blighted them of late are by no means resolved.
“We did move in the right direction,” he told Viaplay. “But we still have our limits with the car of course. Over the bumps and kerbs.
“What we tried yesterday didn’t work at all. Then it drove fine, but we had no downforce at all. We are a bit stuck with certain things. On a street circuit it’s very difficult.”
Verstappen lines up on the grid 59 points ahead of Norris in the race for the World title while Red Bull trail McLaren by 20 points with seven races remaining.
Read next: Ted Kravitz launches Daniel Ricciardo ‘deserves more’ Red Bull ‘rant’ as axe threat looms
