Horner with 'tears in eyes' at seeing 2024 bid amount after record season

There is one less pleasant side to Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen's record season. Each team's entry fee for the next F1 season is determined by the number of points gained in the previous season. For Red Bull, a record season, but also a record entry fee.

Drivers also pay a kind of entry fee on their points earned in Formula 1. So Max Verstappen is already expected to pay a record amount this year. The Dutchman is even expected to break the "magic limit" of €1 million for renewing his F1 superlicence. Where Verstappen pays for his licence, his team pays for re-registration to the F1 championship.

According to Autosport, the amount Red Bull has to pay will come out to $7.5 million, €6.8 million. Since 2013, the Concorde Agreement has included a fixed entry fee for all F1 teams. The base amount is $500,000, with $5,000 added per point and $6,000 per point for the champion. In view of inflation, these fees have been raised substantially. The base rate currently in place is $657,837. Per point, F1 teams pay $6,575.

Red Bull is the 2023 champion, so the team of Verstappen and Sergio Perez is charged a rate of $7,893 per point. This makes Red Bull's re-registration a cost of $7,445,817. According to Autosport, tears sprang to Christian Horner's eyes upon seeing the amount. Horner: "it’s a luxury problem to have because we’ve had to score the points to generate the invoice. Thankfully, it’s outside of the budget cap. But it’s a big cheque to be writing to the FIA.”