The domination of the Red Bull Racing Team continues in the 2023 Formula 1 season. Last year, the Ferrari F1 team got off to a promising start with a 1-2 finish at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc won the race, and his teammate, Carlos Sainz, finished second. The hopes of seeing a Ferrari driver win the championship for the first time after 2007 were crushed as the team could not match the pace of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez in the two Red Bulls.
Eventually, Verstappen sealed his second successive Drivers’ Championship title after finishing 146 points clear of second-placed Leclerc. Meanwhile, the Red Bull Racing Team clinched their first Constructors’ Championship since 2013. Ferrari’s disappointing season finished in second place. Surprisingly, the Mercedes F1 team, which had dominated the sport for almost eight years, finished third.
The New Season
New drivers, machinery, and contracts were the top discussion topics as and when they were unveiled. This season, the budget cap is $135 million, with an extra allowance of $1.2 million per race. However, individual driver salaries are not included in this cap. Hence, there is a huge difference between driver salaries. Logan Sargent of the Williams F1 Team is earning $1 million this season, while Verstappen is reeling in $55 million under the longest contract on the grid.
Surprisingly, Red Bull’s second driver, Perez, is not amongst the top five earners in F1 this season. The Mexican is earning $10 million this season, less than Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Carlos Sainz. There may be a massive difference of $45 million between the salaries of the two Red Bull drivers, but the gap is small when it comes to points in the Drivers’ Championship this season.
Five races into the new season, the Red Bulls are miles ahead of their competition. As things stand, the Drivers’ Championship battle this season could be just between the two Red Bull drivers. Three out of the five races so far have been won by Verstappen, while Perez won the other two. The Dutchman has accumulated 119 points, and his Mexican counterpart is only 14 points behind him.
Whose Points Are Worth More?
Everything is going in the right direction for Red Bull, but what is the value of the points their drivers have gained so far? According to the F1 race calendar, there will be 23 races this season. That means per race, Verstappen will earn almost $2.4 million. On the other hand, Perez will only earn $434,782 per Grand Prix. In the first five races of the season, the Dutchman has earned $12 million, while the Mexican has made only around $2.1 million.
In exchange for $12 million, two-time world champion Verstappen has contributed 119 points to Red Bull’s tally. Meanwhile, Perez has earned over 80 percent less than Verstappen but has still chipped in with almost the same amount of points – 105. Each point that Verstappen has earned this season has cost Red Bull a little over $100,000. Compared to that, the expenditure on Perez is not burning a hole through their wallet because each of his points is worth only $20,000.
It is still early days, but the Honda-powered Red Bull cars are on another level. Their rivals have accepted that it will be a mountainous task to match the pace of the Bulls this season at least. If Perez does not lift his foot off the throttle, he could compete with his teammate for the Championship this season and spoil Verstappen’s three-peat plan.
