Max Verstappen says F1 salary cap idea ‘completely wrong’

Reigning Formula One world champion Max Verstappen has slammed the idea of capping driver salaries as a method for saving money in the sport, saying it would have a negative impact on young drivers attempting to break into motorsport’s top category.

F1 introduced a budget cap last year to curb spending among the sport’s top teams and level the playing field across the grid. The cap currently stands at $140 million per year but there are exemptions, including marketing spend, driver salaries and the salaries of the top three earners in the team.

The cap has already proved controversial, with inflationary pressure since the start of the year leading some teams to ask for an adjustment.

However, longer term F1 is considering adding a driver salary cap, which would effectively limit drivers’ earning potential. No agreement has been made, but several teams have supported the idea in public.

Verstappen, who recently signed a new Red Bull contract until the end of 2028 worth in the region of $40-50 million a year, believes the idea of a driver salary cap is wrong as the drivers deserve to benefit from F1’s booming popularity.

“I think no one really knows where it is going to go but from my side, it’s completely wrong,” Verstappen said. “I think at the moment, F1 is becoming more and more popular and everyone is making more and more money, including the teams and FOM [Formula One Management].

“Everyone is benefitting, so why should the drivers, with their IP rights and everything, be capped? We actually bring the show and put our lives at risk, because we do, eventually. So for me, it’s completely wrong.”

Verstappen also warned that it would limit sponsorship opportunities for young drivers hoping to make F1, who rely on money from backers to pay for their progress through junior categories in exchange for a cut of their potential future earnings in F1.

“Also in all of the junior categories, if you see how many of the drivers have a sponsor or a backer who will have a certain…