Dutch sponsors make $1.5 million to Max Verstappen an exception amidst their cancellation spree in motorsports

Tanish Chachra | 05/01/2023
Dutch sponsors make $1.5 million to Max Verstappen an exception amidst their cancellation spree in motorsports

Max Verstappen, the current F1 world champion, is one of the hottest commercial entities in sports. Thus, he would have plenty of sponsors and deals to advertise and make a fortune out of all of them.

Especially for mega-corporations at his home– the Netherlands, it would be a mistake not to get him on board in his most successful run, even if it means to afford him in chaos.

Jumbo is the biggest example of that. The mega supermarket chain, which has sponsored the Red Bull star since his initial career days, continues to afford him even during their biggest crisis.

Also read: FIA overreacted to Lewis Hamilton & George Russell’s woes; claims F1 CTO

Jumbo wants to continue with Max Verstappen

Currently, the Dutch brand is cancelling all the brand deals and sponsorships in motorsport due to money laundering allegations. Their previous CEO, Frits van Eerd was forced to step down after coming out as a suspect in the scandal. However, they aren’t ready to let Verstappen go.

According to the reports, Jumbo is ready to make an exception for the 25-year-old and continue paying him his $1.5 million annual sponsorship money.

“We will no longer continue with that. We will also take a critical look at our activities in motorsport. An exception to this is the contract with Max Verstappen,” said Jumbo’s temporary CEO, Ton van Veen as motorsport deals are also under investigation.

Why Jumbo wasn’t distant by the Red Bull star

The Jumbo controversy is one of the hottest topics in the Netherlands. In such instances, celebrities with global reputations distance themselves from organizations to preserve their personal brand and reputation.

However, Verstappen hasn’t shelved the retail brand from his lengthy shelves of sponsors. Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen said last September they would continue with the usual agreement with Jumbo as the brand is not part of the investigation.

Their entourage doesn’t want to come to conclusions beforehand and would be waiting for the facts on the table. According to Vermeulen, his side is constantly in contact with Jumbo, and marketing will continue for now.

So far, Verstappen has nothing to be worried about. Despite the fact that motorsport deals are at the centre of the investigation, no links to Verstappen have been drawn by the officials.

Also read: When Jenson Button drove with a broken hand to stop Kevin Magnussen from racing his car

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Max Verstappen Red Bull

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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