As Max Verstappen gears up to tackle the 2025 F1 season, the four-time world champion has made a few strategic acquisitions as part of his pre-season prep. One such investment is in a brand new 2022-spec Falcon 8X private jet. As per RacingNews365, the market value of the aircraft is about $50,000,000.
This isn’t the first private jet that the #1 driver owns. Rather, the Falcon 8X is an upgrade for Verstappen from his previous Falcon 900EX airliner. The Red Bull driver’s latest purchase might be a result of the lessons learned last season.
The 24-race F1 calendar means that the drivers need to travel across the world almost constantly. Moreover, one of the biggest flights of the season is between the Las Vegas GP and the Qatar GP — an effective five-day turnaround that gets tiring for drivers — having a distance of around 8,000 miles.
This is where the decision to upgrade from the 900EX to the 8X might be genius.
The 27-year-old’s previous airliner had a meager range of 7,800 kilometers (4,846 miles) as compared to a staggering range of roughly 12,000 kilometers (7,456 miles) for the 8X.
This means that there will virtually never be a need for stoppages or refueling for the Dutchman. Not only does this streamline his schedule but also pushes towards more sustainable flying.
a look at max’s new jet. this is insane?!!
[ bilionariosclub] pic.twitter.com/2c3Ow0rlpx
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) February 9, 2025
Further, the aircraft is larger in size and thus, will be able to accommodate more of Verstappen’s entourage and utilities. Many of his peer drivers would covet such a private jet for their travels.
Fernando Alonso does own one, but it is the Falcon 900C which doesn’t have a range as extensive as the 8X. Alonso is one of the drivers, who have staunchly criticized F1’s ever-expanding race calendar and also highlighted the number of exhausting flight hours they have to bear within a season.
So, the Spaniard would certainly want to upgrade to a jet like the reigning world champion. At the end of the day, however, despite the utility involved in buying the private jet, it is only Verstappen’s affluent lifestyle at present that allows it.
Verstappen is living his best life as an F1 driver
In the past, Verstappen has been very vocal about how he sees life outside F1 as well. Rather, he has often criticized the sport for taking away moments of leisure and fun he would rather spend with his family and friends.
But it cannot be discarded that being an F1 driver has allowed the Dutchman to make purchases like private jets and yachts. With his current yearly earnings at Red Bull standing at $75 million [$60M base pay + $15M bonuses], it is understandable why he can afford to splurge on such luxury modes of transport.
He recently completed the purchase of another new yacht from Mangusta in Viareggio, Italy. Sources claim the yacht — named ‘Unleash the Lion’ by Verstappen — is worth $12.3 million. It is a 33-meter-long vessel with four engines that can yield a speed of 25 knots at half load.
It is a no-brainer that Verstappen would use this yacht a lot to go on vacations with his partner Kelly Piquet and his other loved ones. The Red Bull driver could also have his yacht parked in the Monaco harbor during this season’s Monaco GP weekend.
