Red Bull's Helmut Marko has denied rumours that Max Verstappen's salary for 2018 is anywhere near what Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are being paid by their teams.
Verstappen recently signed a new deal with Red Bull which will see him remain at the team until at least 2020, with reports suggesting his salary is just shy of what Mercedes pay Hamilton and what Ferrari pay Vettel – both four-time world champions.
It's believed Hamilton earns around £20 million ($26.7m) as a base salary, excluding race win and title bonuses, which actually take his total to more than £30m ($40m), whilst Vettel earns roughly the same.
Speaking to Servus TV, Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda taunted Marko over Verstappen's new pay package, insisting he could have saved some money if he'd spoken to Lauda first, who insists Mercedes never made an approach for the young Dutchman.
"We never offered him a contract," he said. "If we had talked before, you would have saved some money," he said to Marko.
Marko however says money wasn't the only factor in Verstappen's decision, but promises about future developments convinced him Red Bull was the best place to be to become champion, before denying the 20-year-old is paid close to what his peers are.
"We introduced him to our plans for the future. We guaranteed to him that our most senior people are committed until 2020, and that we have an alternative in terms of engine supply. That is no secret," added the Austrian.
“All this convinced him [to stay]. Of course he used the chance to get a salary rise. It’s within reason. He is far from what Hamilton or [Sebastian] Vettel. [are paid]."
However Verstappen could find himself earning a lot more if he tastes title success with the team.
"When he wins championships, he can reach that level [of pay]," added Marko. "By Formula 1 standards, we are on a relatively low level in terms of fixed salary. But we have good bonuses."
