How Max Verstappen Mercedes salary would compare to Lewis Hamilton

Follow us on Google Discover

Details of Mercedes’ contract offer to world champion Max Verstappen have emerged via Auto Motor und Sport. Mercedes are trying to sign Verstappen from Red Bull to replace seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Dutchman is likely to take plenty of convincing. He’s won the last three world titles with Red Bull and looks set to follow up his record-shattering 2023 triumph with a similarly dominant campaign this year.

In fact, the expectation is that the Bulls will continue to rule F1 until at least 2026, when the sport introduces new regulations. However, AMuS have revealed the lengths to which Mercedes are willing to go to prise him away.

The Silver Arrows have struggled so far in 2024, failing to score a podium at any of the first four races. They sit a distant fourth in the constructors’ standings with just 34 points, 107 behind Red Bull.

However, Wolff is willing to hand Verstappen a long-term ambassadorship in the hope of convincing him. The 57-time Grand Prix winner apparently welcomes the warmth he’s receiving from Brackley amid the fractious atmosphere at his current team.

Would Max Verstappen make more than Lewis Hamilton?

According to AMuS, Wolff is ready to wait as long as possible to sign up his Hamilton replacement as he holds out hope that Verstappen will agree to join. This could see him lose out on an alternative target like Carlos Sainz, but he’s happy to take that chance.

The Mercedes hierarchy have already approved the package that the team will offer the 26-year-old. When you include bonuses, his salary will apparently exceed that of Hamilton, the most successful driver in F1 history. Journalist Pedro Fermin Flores adds that the difference is ‘considerable’.

It remains to be seen just how much the British driver will pocket when he joins Ferrari in 2025. He’s signed a multi-year deal with the Italian marquee, having opted out of the second year of his Mercedes extension.

How much does Max Verstappen earn at Red Bull?

Based on figures from Spotrac, Verstappen is already on the biggest contract of any driver on the F1 grid. Hamilton is the closest to his staggering £824k-a-week wage, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third and Lando Norris fourth after penning a McLaren extension in the winter.

Verstappen’s ex-trainer thinks he would only ditch his current situation at Red Bull if he felt he had a better chance of winning elsewhere. No team can realistically offer that in the short term, but the 2026 regulation changes are no doubt a factor.

The last time we saw changes this significant in 2014, it was Mercedes who stole a march on their competitors, rattling off eight straight constructors’ titles. In a career-defining masterstroke, Hamilton left McLaren to join the German manufacturer for the 2013 season.

While he wasn’t able to challenge Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull at first, Mercedes furnished him with a dominant car in his second year. It remains to be seen whether Verstappen takes a similar gamble, or places his long-term faith in Red Bull.