Verstappen set for biggest contract in F1 history with Red Bull

Red Bull is expected to announce later this week a new long-term deal with reigning world champion Max Verstappen that is being touted as the biggest contract in F1 history.

A report published on Wednesday by Dutch daily De Telegraaf claims that Verstappen, eager to capitalize on his 2021 world title, has agreed to a four or five year deal with Red Bull for an estimated $50 million a year!

The new contract between the two parties would not only put the 24-year-old in the same pay bracket as seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, but even above the Briton and at the top of F1's all-time biggest earners.

De Telegraaf said that neither Red Bull nor Raymond Vermeulen - Verstappen's long-standing manager - offered any comment on the report, but an official announcement is expected in the coming days.

Verstappen graduated to F1 in 2015 with Toro Rosso, the Dutchman becoming at 17 years and 166 days the youngest Grand Prix driver ever to roll onto the grid.

Verstappen transferred to senior bull squad Red Bull just four races in to the 2016 season and achieved the remarkable feat of winning his first race with the Milton Keynes-based outfit, establishing at 18 years and 228 days a new record as Formula 1's youngest winner.

Since his maiden triumph, the intrepid and blindingly fast charger has racked up 19 wins, the last of which earned him the world title in Abu Dhabi last December, albeit in controversial circumstances.

"I want to stay with them for the rest of my life. I hope they let me," said Verstappen at Yas Marina back in December as he paid tribute to his team and the Red Bull family.

And the Dutchman's new contract with his team may well be the first step towards fulfilling that wish.

• Read also - Marko: Verstappen shares one big quality with Senna and Schumacher

Verstappen's impetuosity often got the better of him in the early stages of his career, but Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko says the Red Bull charger is now a refined gem that drives "almost flawlessly".

"Max has clearly matured," Marko told Austrian magazine Autorevue in a recent interview. "This process of maturity wasn't always so visible from the outside, but it has reached the highest level very quickly.

“You have to remember he's still only 24.

"Verstappen drives almost flawlessly, has improved in all areas and is no longer impetuous.

"In the past, he would have liked to do everything on the first lap. If something didn’t go right in preparation, he would always explode.

"Today he stays calm."

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