Verstappen: At some point I will decide that I have had enough

At the very beginning of the weekend in Monza, the Mercedes team confirmed the contracts with both drivers – so George Russell and Lewis Hamilton will remain in the team for another two seasons. The seven-time world champion therefore plans to play in Formula 1 for at least forty years.

But Max Verstappen, who is already on his way to his third title, is not going to follow suit and he has completely different plans for the future.

“No, I don’t have that wish at all,” says the Red Bull Racing driver in an interview with Racefans. – I’ve already decided what I want to do outside of Formula 1. I have a passion and I want to realize this dream of mine too. But I am not going to threaten anyone at all that I will leave F1, but I just have that kind of outlook on life.

I’ve been racing since I was four years old and at some point I’ll decide I’ve had enough. For me, there is no question of winning seven, eight or nine titles. In the end, when you become world champion for the first time, the same thing repeats itself over and over again.

But I already have a lot of plans that have nothing to do with F1. I can’t say that Formula 1 is my life, only I don’t do anything else now. So I think I can do something else, and besides, I don’t have to travel that much. I just get tired of it.

I already don’t like how much time I have to spend on constant flights. Although, of course, it will be very difficult to leave a team that wins races and championships. In any case, I have a contract until 2028 and I know it. But by then I’ll be 31 and probably want to do other things.

I know I can be very competitive even at 31, but that’s not the point. It’s just that one day I decide I’ve had enough. In addition, I like to spend time at home. But I always know when to put all my focus back on racing to get to the track and be ready to show good results. I’ve always been like this. My privacy is very important to me. I should be able to switch off Formula 1 once in a while and think about it less.

However, all this points to Max’s plans for the future and he intends to perform no worse this weekend than in previous races.

“Our team has won every race this year, so we want to keep doing the same, that’s for sure,” said Verstappen categorically when asked about his plans for this weekend. – But it is always difficult, a lot can go wrong, and this should always be remembered.

For me it is always important that we fully focus on what is happening in our team, what we have control over. From the outside it is impossible to understand how difficult it is. I’d love to let others try it and see what they come up with. I know how hard it is. Every weekend we face some difficulty.

Of course we have a fast car, but I always give this example: in F2 and F3 everyone has the same technique, but the difference between the cars is very big. Why? This means that if you can’t tune the car properly, the difference in speed will be very noticeable. The same thing happens in Formula 1. We spend a lot of time trying to achieve optimal settings.

Of course the season is going incredibly well for us. But this does not mean at all that we just have fun and take our tasks lightly every weekend. This requires an enormous effort from everyone, we will continue to do our best. Of course perfection is impossible, but I think we can be proud of the way we work now.”