Max Verstappen has turned out to be Red Bull’s most-priced possession. The Dutch racer has single-handedly helped Red Bull kick-start a new era of dominance in F1. Therefore, quite naturally, Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko has made it clear that under no circumstances will they let Verstappen leave them for someone else.
The situation is quite similar to that of Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint Germain. The French soccer star is one of the highest-valued players on the team. Only difference is that Mbappe has expressed his wish to leave PSG at the end of this year.
🚨💣 JUST IN: Real Madrid could make an OFFER to PSG if the meeting between Mbappé and PSG results in a guarantee that PSG set a fee on him and he’s up for sale. @marca #rmalive pic.twitter.com/z6BbFaji35
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) June 29, 2023
This has left PSG in a mess and it is believed that a transfer offer of over $200,000,000 will be enough for any team to snatch Mbappe from PSG.
Helmut Marko spoke about what Red Bull would do if Formula 1 had a system of transfer fees and the Milton Keynes outfit found themselves in a similar position regarding Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen is beyond any transfer fees
Marko was asked by the Austrian Newspaper Kleine Zeitung about his relationship with Oliver Mintzlaff, the new lead at Red Bull. Mintzlaff was previously the CEO of the soccer team RB Leipzig and Marko explained that talking with him has led to an increase in Marko’s soccer knowledge.
Marko specifically mentioned how he was amazed by the transfer fee system that is present in the sport. When asked about his opinion regarding Formula 1 having transfer fees, Marko was quick to answer, “Well, it would be nice if Formula 1 also had such transfer fees.”
There’s only one stand-out driver in 2023 according to George Russell…
…Max Verstappen! 🥇
Who would you pick as your top three of the season so far? 🤔#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/roBvLmZwMU
— Autosport (@autosport) June 29, 2023
However, he immediately claimed, “Although, even then, Max Verstappen would never be for sale.” It is quite evident how valuable Verstappen is to Red Bull.
Transfer Fees for F1 drivers
As it turns out, having transfer fees for Formula 1 drivers isn’t a new idea at all. The idea was first proposed in 1995 by the leading F1 team bosses when they met for a discussion at the Williams Motorhome in Magny-Cours.
100 wins 🙌
To take the 100th Grand Prix victory for our team is absolutely fantastic and an amazing achievement by everyone! Very proud to be part of this, @redbullracing 👏 Let’s keep this going 🚀
Canada, your support is incredible! Thank you very much! 🍁 pic.twitter.com/QzZRM7BbYy
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) June 18, 2023
The proposal back then was that there would be a fixed amount of money per world championship point that a team had to pay another team if they wanted to sign their driver. In the current context, if a fixed amount of $500,000 per point was decided upon, and Mercedes wanted to sign Max Verstappen. The Silver Arrows would have to pay $227,000,000 to Red Bull to sign Verstappen.
The discussion was being held at a time when all the top teams wanted to sign up Michael Schumacher for the 1996 season. The German legend had demanded $25 million for his services and having a set transfer fee system would have reduced the price manifold. However, the proposal was never finalized and F1 never saw the introduction for transfer fees.
