Alonso, Hamilton and Verstappen agreed on the money

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen they agree on something. Miracle! And even harder: so did Fernando Alonso and the 7-time champion. Money has the ability to destroy friendships and divide couples and families, but also to unite pilots who one day became rivals in eternity. The Dutch and English showed conflicting opinions on most of the things they said in 2021, fighting fiercely face to face for that title, with constant blame and mind games. But in 2022, in a completely different context, like Fernando Alonso and other drivers openly oppose the idea of ​​introducing a policy limiting the driver’s salary to a maximum of 30 million euros per team.

In 2021, a budget ceiling was introduced that affects car development and many areas, but does not include the 3 highest salaries of engineers and technicians, or of drivers. This ceiling was introduced to promote greater equality in competition and reduce the massive cost of the best teams, with the ability to invest millions relentlessly to create faster cars, something that is not. corresponding to the current situation. In that sense, full inflation due toAfter the invasion from Russia to Ukraine and after the crisis caused by the pandemic, Mattia Binotto, head of Ferrari, assured that the issue of establishing a limit on the salary of drivers was on the table.

“We have already discussed this issue and there is no simple solution. We are trying to understand the possible ideas, but the solution will not come in a short time, because there are already contracts in place and cannot be changed. There are legal implications. and this is an important issue. We understand it, we recognize that it will take a while, but we have already started to discuss it, “said the Ferrari Team Principal. And after that, came the rejection of the great protagonists of the grid.

Hamilton: “Pilots are the ones who carry the brands”

“I think the drivers here are the stars of the sport. They are the ones carrying their marks and their reputation helps lift the sport and helps brands travel the world. If you look at other sports, there have been salary caps, but I think the only difference is that in those areas the athletes own their image. in many places so they can try to maximize their image in other areas, ”Hamilton said.

“But this sport pretty much controls the image of the driver,” Lewis added.

In other words, Hamilton believes that the salary ceiling cannot be imposed like the NBA, because there, a star like Lebron James can have all the sponsorship for his benefit regardless of his salary. According to Hamilton, that model currently cannot be replicated in F1.

“I’m thinking about the next young stars that will come out and I don’t particularly see why they should be at a disadvantage. If they bring something massive to the sport and it’s a multi-million dollar sport, they should be rewarded for what they bring. ”Lewis expressed, with an opinion very similar to Fernando Alonso.

“I don’t think it is needed. They use us more to promote F1. The more we do and the more events, the more we interact with the fans, in the paddock … they ask for more and they benefit from it. We should be out of this budget ceiling “, commented Fernando, praising the merit that pilots have in the current ‘boom’ that F1 is experiencing around the world.

“Why did we tax our lives?”

“Nothing is clear yet, nothing has been decided. No one will know where it’s going. But on my side, it’s really wrong. F1 is becoming more popular now and everyone is winning, including the teams. So …why do pilots have to limit their salary when they are risking their lives? For me it’s completely wrong, ”defending champion Max Verstappen said.

Verstappen believes that future talents are put at risk

Max Verstappen gave another opinion against this Friday to the Azerbaijan GP based on how much the salary ceiling could affect future drivers.

“Also, in all the junior categories when you see that they all have a sponsor and they are participating in their benefits when it comes to F1 … that will be limited because the sponsors will never get that return. their investment if you put a limit on the budget, ”Verstappen told the newsroom.

“It’s going to hurt all the junior classes and I don’t think that’s what they’re looking to do.”

How will this ceiling affect the pilots?

“I think Max got it right,” Lando Norris said, agreeing with Verstappen’s argument. But he clarified with some jokes that that limit shouldn’t worry him too much because his salary is far from Hamilton’s multi-million dollar agreements with Mercedes and Verstappen with Red Bull. “Like I haven’t had to think about it as much as he did … (laughs),” he said laughing about Verstappen’s stance.

“If you limit what a driver earns, it’s going to be very difficult or less interesting for people to invest in those young drivers. It’s one of the key elements. I think it’s more unified. Max thought about it and what he said sounds good, “Lando de new added with one last joke. And it’s between joke and joke, you know what’s coming. And the fact is, according to the expert portal ‘Racing News 365’, only Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen started the course with a salary of more than 20 million euros: Lewis, with 35 million a year and Max, with 21.9 million. However, Max renewed until 2028 and it is believed that his salary could be around 50 million, something that has not yet been confirmed. They will be the big losers.

From there, according to the same source, Alonso will receive 17.5 million at Alpine, Vettel and Ricciardo will exceed 13, Leclerc will exceed 10 and Sainz will be close to 9, as will Bottas, and Stroll, with ‘Checo’ Pérez earning 7 in. Your previous contract prior to renewal. From there, salaries are not stratospheric. 4.4 million for Russell, Norris, Ocon and Gasly, 1.75 for Albon and less than a million for Zhou, Mick Schumacher, Latifi or Tsunoda.

The alleged salary limit could be approximately 30 million dollars, about 28.5 million euros. Imagine how much Hamilton or Verstappen’s salary was. The team that wants to have a great star can possibly bet on a lower teammate to fill their number 1 money. And what will happen to valid contracts like Max’s, already signed until 2028? What seems clear is that life for the middle of the grill won’t change much. Yes for the stars, united so that no one attacks their interests.