$1 Million Ego Boosting Penalty Handed to Max Verstappen Rubs Salt in Lewis Hamilton’s Wounds

Despite going neck to neck until the final lap of the last race in 2021, the next season turned out to be very different for Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. While Verstappen practically ran away with the championship, breaking several records along the way, Hamilton, for the first time in his entire F1 career, went full season without a race win. It all now shows in the super license fee they need to pay to the FIA to take part in the upcoming 2023 season.

What is it really that one needs to compete in F1? Mastery over super fast cars, the experience of driving on the most complex tracks around the world, the backing of teams competing in the championship, and a big pile of cash. That cash helps one get the most important document of them all, the Super License. Each year, a driver pays a fee to renew his F1 super license to compete in the pinnacle of motorsport. While each driver pays a fixed sum, there is also a dynamic cost that is determined on the basis of points scored in the previous season.

As per Vincenzo Landino, the current base cost comes to €10,400 ($11,081). However, it is the per-point amount that makes things even more interesting. Landino quotes this amount to be €2,100 ($2,237). That makes the amount Verstappen owes to the FIA come to an eye-watering €963,800 ($1.02 million approx.). In comparison, Hamilton, who finished 5th in the standings with 240 points, will have to cough up €514,400 ($548,000 approx.). Other drivers who will pay upwards of €500,000 ($532,000 approx.) are Charles Leclerc ($700,000 approx.), Sergio Perez ($693,000 approx.), George Russell ($626,000 approx.), and Carlos Sainz ($561,000 approx.).

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This is probably the only time in the season when drivers who did not perform too well can feel good about themselves.

F1 drivers who will only pay the base cost for Super License renewal

As already discussed above, the dynamic cost of the per-point amount depends on how a driver performs in the season gone by. But what if a driver did not score any points or is participating in the championship for the first time?

Well, those drivers only pay the base cost of $11,081. The ones who will pay that for the 2023 season include Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, and Williams’ Logan Sargeant.

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While some drivers pay this fee out of their own pockets, some of them have their teams pay that for them. They obviously discuss these things beforehand and are part of their contracts.