The domination of the 2022 F1 season left Max Verstappen with a sizeable Super Licence bill to pay from the FIA.
The Dutchman amassed 454 points during the course of his championship-winning campaign, taking a record 15 race wins in the process.
He ended the year 146 points clear of second placed Charles Leclerc who was in turn three clear of Sergio Perez.
While the world championship is the ultimate goal for all drivers, and it brings with it some significant upsides, it also comes at a cost.
All drivers competing in Formula 1 must have a Super Licence, which they pay for based on their performance in the previous year.
After a campaign of utter domination from Verstappen, the Dutchman will need to fork out more than $1 million (AUD 1.5 million) just to have the documents needed to race next season.
His team faces something similar, with an entry fee totalling $6,242,636, a figure more than $2 million higher than second-placed Ferrari.
The Super Licence payment structure is near identical to the entry fee process for teams, with a basic figure plus another notional sum per point.
In 2022, the flat fee was €10,400 with a further €2100 per point.
It means Verstappen will pay a total of €963,800 while Nico Hulkenberg, who returns to the F1 grid full time with Haas, will have to stump up just €10,400.
That’s also the case for rookies Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant, set to join McLaren and Williams respectively.
A driver gains an F1 Super Licence by scoring 40 points, calculated based on the finishing position in selected competitions over the past few seasons.
That system is designed to maintain an acceptable standard of driving at the sport’s peak, and typically favours success in European junior formulae en route to Formula 1.
However, there are points available for IndyCar, with victory in that competition scoring the requisite 40 points in one go.
2023 F1 Super Licence fees:
| Driver | 2022 Points | 2023 Super Licence Fee |
| Max Verstappen | 454 | € 963,800.00 |
| Charles Leclerc | 308 | € 657,200.00 |
| Sergio Perez | 305 | € 650,900.00 |
| George Russell | 275 | € 587,900.00 |
| Carlos Sainz | 246 | € 527,000.00 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 240 | € 514,400.00 |
| Lando Norris | 121 | € 264,500.00 |
| Esteban Ocon | 92 | € 203,600.00 |
| Fernando Alonso | 81 | € 180,500.00 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 49 | € 113,300.00 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 37 | € 88,100.00 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 37 | € 88,100.00 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 25 | € 62,900.00 |
| Pierre Gasly | 23 | € 58,700.00 |
| Lance Stroll | 19 | € 50,300.00 |
| Mick Schumacher | 12 | € 35,600.00 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 12 | € 35,600.00 |
| Zhou Guanyu | 6 | € 23,000.00 |
| Alex Albon | 4 | € 18,800.00 |
| Nicholas Latifi | 2 | € 14,600.00 |
| Nyck de Vries | 2 | € 14,600.00 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 0 | € 10,400.00 |
| Oscar Piastri | 0 | € 10,400.00 |
| Logan Sargeant | 0 | € 10,400.00 |
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