Max Verstappen’s record Formula 1 season will be costly: how much he and the other drivers will have to pay the FIA for their 2024 super license
Max Verstappen’s win of his third Formula 1 world championship comes at a high price, quite literally. According to reports, the Red Bull driver will have to pay over 1.2 million euros to obtain the super license he needs to be able to compete again next year.
The world champion has won 19 of the 22 races in 2023. As the cost of the license increases for every point a driver scores, the FIA charges a high fee.
Fortunately for Verstappen, however, the hefty sum for next year will not be paid by himself, as he has already revealed: “The team is paying it, fortunately.”
However, he also expressed criticism to the Dutch TV station Viaplay: “I think there should be a normal relationship. But these things are fixed at some point, and I don’t think anyone expected that it would end up being so many points.”
Verstappen finished the 2023 Formula 1 season with 575 points. That is the highest number of points a driver has ever scored in a single season. The Dutchman describes the horrendous costs associated with this dominance as “absurd”.
“I don’t think it’s right that we have to pay so much,” said the 26-year-old. “That’s not the case in other sports either. And there are more and more races.”
Fortunately for Red Bull, driver salaries and fees do not fall under the budget cap, which ensures that teams have to limit their spending.
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also says: “It’s a luxury problem we have because we have scored so many points. Fortunately, it’s outside the budget limit. But yes, it’s a big check that we have to write to the FIA.”
Red Bull is the only team to have publicly confirmed so far that it will pay for Verstappen’s super license fee. It is not known whether his teammate Sergio Perez or other drivers will have to pay their own fees.
What is a super license?
An FIA Super License is the highest license there is and is required of every driver who wants to compete in Formula 1. The license is issued to drivers by the governing body of Formula 1, the FIA. It was introduced in the 1990s.
In 2015, after Verstappen’s debut in the same year, a minimum age was also decided. Verstappen was 17 years and 166 days old when he was promoted to Formula 1. The FIA then added the age of majority rule to prevent potentially unsafe and inexperienced drivers from participating.
How do you get a super license?
To obtain a super license, drivers must meet a number of requirements. These include being at least 18 years old when competing in Formula 1 for the first time, having a valid driver’s license and passing an FIA theory test on Formula 1 sporting regulations.
Those who have held a super license in the previous three seasons can still apply for a new one if they plan to return to Formula 1.
This means that drivers such as Nyck De Vries, who was swapped by AlphaTauri for Daniel Ricciardo in the first half of the 2023 season, could reapply for their super license and return to Formula 1 in the next few years.
How much does a Superlicense cost?
The mandatory super license fee reportedly consists of a basic amount of 10,400 euros that each driver must pay to ensure they can compete in the following season. In addition, there is a fee of €2,100 for each championship point scored in the previous season
How much will Verstappen have to pay in 2024?
Verstappen scored 575 points in the 2023 season, which is associated with considerable additional costs for his super license: Each point scored costs the driver an additional 2,100 euros. In 2023, Verstappen’s license fee will therefore be 1,217,900 euros
