Why the Verstappen brand is well-placed to mirror his on-track F1 success

As Max Verstappen lines up to join Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart and
Jack Brabham as a triple world champion, the 25-year-old Dutchman is already one of the biggest and most marketable stars in Formula 1 history. The fact that he is joining the ranks of the championship’s top 10 championship winners while only mid-career leaves plenty of room for more sporting records to be broken.

Now tied to Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season, by which time he will have turned 31, Verstappen has a base contract and bonuses which will ensure a financially sound future for him and future family generations. Talks of driver salary caps are, for the moment, off the table. 

While the usual clickbait speculation on the internet places his salary at over £40m per season, in reality, the only people who know what the contract contains are the principal negotiators, Christian Horner, Verstappen himself and manager Raymond Vermeulen. Given that he came into F1 as a fresh-faced 17-year old, the cumulative gains from the nine seasons to date and five years ahead mean substantial career income for Red Bull’s superstar.

Michael Schumacher was estimated to have earned in excess of £450m during 19 seasons, a career span Verstappen will reach at the still-young age of 36. If he emulates Fernando Alonso and races into his 40s, it wouldn’t take much for him to become F1’s first billion-dollar driver based on cumulative career income.

“Max has a very bright future whatever he chooses to do,” says David Coulthard, a fellow Red Bull ambassador who knows a lot about building a career inside and outside the cockpit.

“Considering that I’m still associated with Red Bull 15 years after I finished racing in F1, Max can look forward to similarly long-term relationships. It’s the model Jackie Stewart first introduced, and Max is perfectly placed to build on everything he’s achieving. He’s very dedicated to his racing, does precisely what’s required to get the job done and is authentic in what he delivers. What you see is what you get, and that’s appealing to partners.”

While Verstappen has sometimes teased that an early exit from F1 might be on the cards, the reality is that both his Red Bull contract and burgeoning commercial opportunities confirm otherwise. Talking to some of those who know him best, racing in F1 and the purity of the driving challenge remain his primary interests.

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Verstappen's brand deals have multiplied since he became F1 world champion and have rocketed his potential earnings

Photo by: EA Sports

Keep it simple 

There is a raw simplicity about Verstappen the racing driver. Everything feeds off the passion he has for the day job so, while rival Lewis Hamilton benefits from taking his mind off racing through his love of music and fashion, Verstappen’s interests beyond F1 lie within motorsport.

Max is a lifelong computer gamer and sim racer. His Redline racing team is an important hobby-turned-business, one that creates a powerful opportunity for engagement with fans and audiences globally. It also builds further commercial opportunities for online partnerships.

His social media following is strong at around 15 million followers, around one-third of that enjoyed by Lewis Hamilton. Smaller numbers but, with a high level of engagement, most particularly with his orange army of fans in the Netherlands, no less lucrative. 

While personal appearances for a current Formula 1 World Champion can command a fee of £500-800k depending on location and requirements, sponsorships which feature explicit endorsements and branding on helmets or clothing can command as much as £2m

Aside from his salary and bonuses from Red Bull Racing, personal sponsorships, licensing agreements and brand ambassadorships represent an important source of commercial income for the driver dominating the 2023 season. He has a range of commercial partnerships, each at a different stage of maturity.

Dutch drinks giant Heineken signed a six-year deal with Verstappen at the beginning of this year, commencing a relationship that will continue until the end of his current Red Bull Racing contract. Heineken is one of F1’s major partners, a relationship that includes title sponsorship of selected Grands Prix, and it also has a commercial agreement with Red Bull Racing.

However, the opportunity to extend its commitment in F1 to Verstappen was simply too good to miss. While Heineken’s F1 sponsorships are part of an overall global marketing strategy, the appeal of partnering with a Dutch superstar will have been an additional factor for the Amsterdam-headquartered business.

Like Hamilton, the Dutch star has tied many of his commercial activities to his interests outside of F1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

A national icon

Verstappen’s hero status in the domestic market has always been clear and the Netherlands will continue to provide opportunities long after his racing career ends. As his country’s first F1 race winner and world champion, Verstappen enjoys iconic status.

Early partners included Dutch accountancy software company Exact, a deal that only came to an end in 2019 following the company’s sale to American private equity company Apax Partners.

Supermarket giant Jumbo began partnering with him in 2016 and a visit to any of its premises gives some indication of how well that relationship has been leveraged. Giant point-of-sale displays for Red Bull are in evidence, Verstappen’s smiling face beaming across the food and beverage aisles. The Jumbo deal is set to end in December, a victim of the company’s tactical withdrawal from a range of high-profile sponsorships in the wake of a scandal involving its former CEO.

A 2018 deal with Dutch pay-TV network Ziggo was followed by last year’s announcement that Verstappen would become a brand ambassador for the streaming company Viaplay. This year got off to a strong start: a deal with EA Sports, the computer gaming division of Electronic Arts, promises collaboration with Verstappen on content creation across its product portfolio.

Dutch vehicle leasing giant Leaseplan is a partner through its CarNext.com business, and G-Star clothing, a Dutch brand with international markets, has been on board since 2019.

While personal appearances for a current Formula 1 World Champion can command a fee of £500-800k depending on location and requirements, sponsorships that feature explicit endorsements and branding on helmets or clothing can command as much as £2m. It’s the cumulative effect of these smaller deals that can be dramatic. In Michael Schumacher’s first year of retirement, 2007, his income from non-racing activities remained over £20m. All those ‘bits and pieces’ really add up.

One of the great strengths of Verstappen’s growing commercial record lies with his manager. A life-long family friend and associate, Vermeulen comes with a reputation for being straightforward while understanding the value his driver can bring. He’s a pragmatic deal-maker, bringing with him a direct style, a common trait among the Dutch.

Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen has his known his family for decades

Photo by: Mark Sutton

The relationship between the Vermeulen and Verstappen households extends beyond F1. Their interests in GT3 are set to expand with the launch of a team by 2025. Meanwhile, the Verstappen Racing business supports Raymond’s son, 21-year-old Thierry Vermeulen, currently competing in DTM and GT World Challenge, as well as Jos Verstappen’s rallying activities.

The management relationship is very close. There is no burgeoning entourage of gatekeepers and bodyguards between the pair.

In much the same way that Hamilton dominated the 2010s and Schumacher the decade before that, we are now in an era defined by Verstappen

Both the near and long-term future for Max Verstappen centres on racing, winning more Formula 1 world championship titles and building upon the business opportunities that brings. In much the same way that Hamilton dominated the 2010s and Schumacher the decade before that, we are now in an era defined by Verstappen. With that will come untold opportunities to continue growing a family dynasty rooted in motor racing.

Brand Verstappen continues to grow both inside and outside of F1

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images