Explained: Why is Max Verstappen paying 2x as much as Lewis Hamilton in super license fee for the 2025 F1 season?

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen will pay double the super license fee for the 2025 season as compared to his longtime rival and Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton. The start of the new season is upon us, as the 2025 campaign will kickstart in Australia this weekend at the iconic Albert Park Circuit.

It will be the first time since 2020, which ended up being canceled just moments before the start of the race weekend due to COVID-19, that the Australian GP will host the season opener. For the last couple of years, the honor of hosting the first event of the year has gone to Bahrain, which also hosts the pre-season testing.

With all 10 teams and 20 drivers arriving in Melbourne throughout the week, the fans are eagerly awaiting the beginning of potentially one of the best seasons in F1 history. In 2024, the sport witnessed seven drivers and four teams winning multiple events throughout the 24-race calendar.

However, it was Max Verstappen who eventually won his fourth consecutive driver's championship over Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc. As a result, the Dutch driver will once again pay the highest super license fee for the 2025 season, which is double that of his rival, Lewis Hamilton.

Why is Max Verstappen paying 2x as much as Lewis Hamilton in super license fees?

Max Verstappen will pay £835,681 in super license fees to the FIA for the upcoming 2025 season. A super license fee combines the base fee and the points scored in the previous championship year to compete in the upcoming season.

Every year, the driver and teams alike have to pay a base fee to the sport's governing body to compete in the following championship year. For the 2025 season, the base for the super license is $12,097, which is an almost 20 percent increase from 2024. Similarly, the fee for each point has also increased to $2,443 from $2,217.

The Dutch driver scored 437 points in his championship season last year, which would take his total to a whopping amount of over $1m for the 2025 season. However, the reigning four-time world champion was still saving over $200k on the super license fee compared to his 2023 triumph, where he scored a record 575 points and paid over $1.3m.

On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton will pay £431,127 super license fee for the upcoming 2025 season after he finished P7 in the driver's standings with 223 points to his name.

The ex-Mercedes driver won two races in the 2024 season but still finished behind his former teammate, George Russell, in the championship. As a result, he would pay over $550k, which is almost half the amount that of Max Verstappen.

However, the seven-time F1 world champion could eclipse Max Verstappen in super license fee in 2026 if he scores more points with his new team, Ferrari.