Max Verstappen yacht coverage should be simple — he bought one, it has a name, that’s usually the end of it. Instead, outlets can’t agree on the price ($12 million or $15 million), the exact model (GranSport 22 or GranSport 33), and for years, some reporting had him owning an entirely different boat that belongs to someone else. This article sorts out what’s actually documented about Unleash the Lion — and, for the first time, what the boat is genuinely worth.
Verification Table
| Attribute | Details | Verification Status |
|---|---|---|
| Yacht Name | Unleash the Lion | Confirmed |
| Builder | Overmarine (Mangusta) | Confirmed |
| Model | Mangusta GranSport 33 | Confirmed (one early report said “22” — likely error) |
| Length | 33 meters / 109 feet | Confirmed |
| Delivered | 2025, from Viareggio, Italy | Confirmed |
| Homeport Registration | Valletta, Malta | Confirmed |
| Price | $12 million vs. $15 million (£11m) | Contested |
| Annual Upkeep | ~$1 million to $1.2 million | Reported (minor variance) |
| Cabins | 5 | Confirmed |
| Guest Capacity | 12 | Reported |
| Top Speed | 25 knots (Volvo Penta engines) | Reported |
| Previously Rumored Yacht (Bagheera) | Confirmed NOT Verstappen’s — belongs to Maarten van Dijk | Corrected/Confirmed |
What Figure Is Actually Being Claimed for the Yacht’s Price?
This is where the coverage splits cleanly into two camps. Yahoo Sports and beIN Sports, both citing F1 photographer Kym Illman, report a base price of $12 million, noting Verstappen’s customizations likely pushed the real cost higher. Crash.net, GPblog, and Sports Illustrated instead cite sports-business reporter Joe Pompliano’s figure of $15 million (£11m). Both figures trace to named individuals rather than anonymous estimates, which is unusual for this kind of story — but they still disagree by $3 million on the same boat.
The $3 Million Disagreement
One boat, two named reporters, two entirely different numbers
Max Verstappen’s Yacht: What Does the Record Actually Confirm?
The Physical Facts
Every outlet checked agrees on the physical facts: a 33-meter (109-foot) Mangusta GranSport 33, built by Italian yard Overmarine, delivered in 2025 after being ordered roughly two years earlier. It has five cabins, sleeps up to 12 guests, and cruises at a reported top speed of 25 knots via Volvo Penta engines. One early Yahoo Sports report from May 2025 listed the model as a “GranSport 22” rather than “GranSport 33” — every subsequent report, including SuperYachtFan’s dedicated ownership database, uses “33,” making the “22” almost certainly a transcription error rather than a genuine model discrepancy.
Full Specifications Breakdown
Beyond the headline numbers, the documented spec sheet for the GranSport 33 platform reads as follows:
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Overall Length | 33 meters (109 feet) |
| Beam | ~7 meters |
| Hull Material | GRP (glass-reinforced plastic) composite |
| Engines | Twin Volvo Penta D13 IPS |
| Top Speed | ~25 knots (reported) |
| Cruising Speed | ~21 knots (reported) |
| Cabins | 5 (sleeps 10) + crew quarters |
| Guest Capacity | 12 day guests |
| Crew | 4–5 |
| Delivered | 2025, Viareggio, Italy |
| Flag / Homeport | Valletta, Malta |
The GranSport 33 sits in Overmarine’s Mangusta performance line — a sporty, fast-cruising superyacht rather than a displacement-style luxury barge. That choice fits Verstappen’s documented taste: the same reporting that describes his sim-racing rig and car collection describes a preference for machines built to be driven hard, not merely displayed.
What Is the Yacht Actually Worth?
This is the question the headline asks and most coverage skips. Here is the honest breakdown:
Base platform value. A new Mangusta GranSport 33, before customization, lists in the region of $12–14 million depending on build year and specification. Illman’s $12 million figure aligns closely with a base-configuration price.
Customization premium. Every outlet notes Verstappen ordered personal modifications — branding, interior specification, and equipment upgrades. On a build of this size, owner customization routinely adds 10–25% to the base price. That pushes a customized build toward, and potentially past, the $15 million Pompliano cites.
Depreciation reality. Superyachts typically lose 10–20% of value in the first years after delivery, then stabilize. A 2025-delivered boat is therefore worth less on the open market in 2026 than its build cost — meaning “what he paid” and “what it’s worth today” are two different numbers that coverage routinely conflates.
The audit verdict. The $12 million figure most likely reflects the base price; the $15 million figure most likely reflects the customized, as-delivered cost. Both can be “true” at different stages of the same transaction — which is why two credible named reporters landed $3 million apart without either being wrong. For the full picture of what funded this purchase, see our Max Verstappen net worth investigation.
Anatomy of a Superyacht’s Value
How a $12M base becomes a $15M boat (and then depreciates)
The Figure That Doesn’t Add Up Publicly
Neither Overmarine nor Verstappen has issued an official price statement. The $12 million and $15 million figures both come from named reporters with paddock or industry access — Kym Illman and Joe Pompliano respectively — but neither traces to a sale document, a shipyard invoice, or a statement from Verstappen’s camp. SuperYachtFan, a dedicated yacht-tracking database, settles on “around US$15 million” in its own profile, giving that figure a slight edge in source count, though it still isn’t a confirmed transaction record.
Why Yacht Prices Stay Private — And What Would Prove One
Superyacht sales, unlike public company transactions, are rarely disclosed with a hard sale price — brokers and owners frequently keep exact figures private by design. Three documents would settle the question instantly, and none is public:
- The bill of sale — the private contract between buyer and shipyard, never published.
- Registration and tonnage fees — Malta-flag registration costs scale with vessel size, not price, so they reveal length but not value.
- Insurance valuation — agreed-value policies reflect true worth but are confidential.
That means the $3 million gap between reported prices may never close through public reporting alone. What public reporting can do is what this article does: trace each figure to its named origin and grade it accordingly. For his other Monaco-adjacent assets and residence, see our Max Verstappen lifestyle audit.
What This Estimate Is Based On — Exactly
The upkeep figure follows the same pattern: Illman estimates over $1.2 million annually, while Crash.net cites $1 million (£738,000) and Sports Illustrated says “$1 million-plus.” These numbers cluster closely enough to be treated as a reported range rather than a genuine contradiction — unlike the purchase price, which splits into two distinct camps. Industry rule of thumb puts annual superyacht running costs at roughly 10% of purchase price, which independently brackets the reported $1–1.2 million range against a $12–15 million boat — a rare case where the math cross-checks the reporting.
| Claim | Published By | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Yacht price: $12 million | Kym Illman, via Yahoo Sports and beIN Sports | Contested |
| Yacht price: $15 million (£11m) | Joe Pompliano, via Crash.net, SI.com, GPblog | Contested |
| Model: Mangusta GranSport 33 | SuperYachtFan, Crash.net, GPblog, Yahoo (later report) | Confirmed |
| Model: Mangusta GranSport 22 | Yahoo Sports (May 22, 2025, earlier report) | Contested (likely error) |
| Annual upkeep ~$1M–$1.2M | Illman, Crash.net, SI.com | Reported |
| Previously reported ownership of yacht “Bagheera” | SuperYachtFan (explicitly corrected) | Corrected — Confirmed false |
| Homeport: Valletta, Malta | Yahoo Sports (2026 report) | Confirmed |
Which Claim Turned Out to Be Simply Wrong?
For several years before 2025, reports circulated that Verstappen owned a yacht called Bagheera. SuperYachtFan’s own database explicitly corrects this: “Those reports were incorrect. Bagheera is linked to Dutch entrepreneur Maarten van Dijk, not Verstappen.” Before 2025, Verstappen was known to charter yachts rather than own one — the Bagheera association appears to have been a straightforward misattribution that circulated for years before anyone corrected it publicly.
The Rumor vs. The Record
How a misattribution circulated for years before being corrected
❌ The Rumor (Pre-2025)
Multiple outlets reported Verstappen owned a yacht named Bagheera.
The Reality: Bagheera belongs to Dutch entrepreneur Maarten van Dijk. Verstappen was merely a charter guest.
DOCUMENTED FALSE✅ The Record (2025+)
Verstappen takes personal delivery of a Mangusta GranSport 33 from Overmarine.
The Reality: He names it Unleash the Lion. His first confirmed, owned superyacht.
CONFIRMED OWNEDHow Does Verstappen’s Yacht Compare to the Monaco Harbor?
The right comparison isn’t to other sports — it’s to the water he parks in. Coverage of the purchase repeatedly frames it as modest by Monaco Grand Prix yacht-row standards:
| Context | Scale | What It Shows |
|---|---|---|
| Verstappen’s Unleash the Lion | $12–15M, 33m | Performance cruiser, owner-operated scale |
| Typical Monaco GP yacht-row vessel | Nine figures, 50–100m+ | Charter and billionaire-owner tier |
| F1 peer yachts (Hamilton, Alonso) | Charter-heavy, few confirmed owned | Verstappen is among the few drivers with a confirmed owned superyacht |
The pattern: among F1 drivers, owning (rather than chartering) a superyacht is rare — most rent for race weekends. Verstappen’s purchase makes him one of the few confirmed owner-drivers, even if his boat is dwarfed by the harbor it visits. For his complete asset and venture picture, see our Max Verstappen cars audit.
What Is Publicly Known About the Purchase Itself?
Verstappen collected the yacht personally from Overmarine’s shipyard in Viareggio, Italy, accompanied by partner Kelly Piquet, according to multiple outlets. The yacht is moored outside central Monaco in Cap d’Ail per one report, though a later 2026 report places its registered homeport as Valletta, Malta — a flag-of-convenience registration common among superyachts and not necessarily where the boat is physically docked day to day.
Conclusion
The record confirms Verstappen owns a genuine 33-meter Mangusta GranSport 33, delivered in 2025 and named Unleash the Lion after his personal brand. What it can’t confirm is a single transaction price — but it can explain the gap: $12 million reads as the base figure, $15 million as the customized as-delivered cost, and both named reporters may be describing different stages of the same purchase. Given how firmly the earlier Bagheera rumor held on for years before anyone corrected it, the lesson isn’t just which number is right — it’s that repetition, not documentation, is what usually turns a yacht rumor into “fact.”
Next In Your Reading: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Yacht: Inside CG Mare — and the Fake Name That Won’t Go Away
Frequently Asked Questions About Max Verstappen’s Yacht
What is the name of Max Verstappen’s yacht?
Unleash the Lion, a nod to his personal branding, which also appears on his private jet’s registration.
How much did Max Verstappen’s yacht actually cost?
Unclear as a single figure. Reports split between $12 million (per F1 photographer Kym Illman, likely base price) and $15 million (per sports-business reporter Joe Pompliano, likely customized as-delivered cost).
What model is Verstappen’s yacht?
A Mangusta GranSport 33, built by Italian shipyard Overmarine and delivered in 2025.
Did Max Verstappen previously own a yacht called Bagheera?
No. That was a documented misattribution — Bagheera belongs to Dutch entrepreneur Maarten van Dijk.
How much does the yacht cost to maintain annually?
Reported between $1 million and $1.2 million a year, which matches the industry rule of ~10% of purchase price.
Where is the yacht based?
Reports place it moored near Cap d’Ail outside Monaco, with a registered homeport of Valletta, Malta.
What is the yacht actually worth today?
Less than its build cost — superyachts depreciate 10–20% in early years. A 2025-delivered GranSport 33 is worth below its as-delivered price on the 2026 open market.
Which part of the yacht purchase is unverifiable?
The exact sale price — no official figure has been disclosed by Verstappen, his representatives, or Overmarine.
Sources: Yahoo Sports, Crash.net, beIN Sports, GPblog, SuperYachtFan, Sports Illustrated (SI.com)
Disclaimer: Purchase price and specification figures in this article are reported by named individuals and yacht-industry trackers, not officially disclosed by Max Verstappen or Overmarine. Contested figures are labeled as such throughout.
