Max Verstappen has given the strongest indication yet that his current Formula 1 contract with Red Bull will be his last.
Speaking with Sky Sports F1, the two-time champion revealed he has desires outside of the world championship that he wants to pursue while he’s still competitive.
Verstappen has at times voiced his displeasure with F1 and its propensity to change up the format and grow the calendar.
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The self-proclaimed homebody said he doesn’t see a future where he wants to race 25 weekends of the year.
F1 initially planned a 24-round calendar this year, with six weekends featuring additional sprint races. However, this year’s is only 22 rounds after COVID-19 scuppered the Chinese Grand Prix and flooding forced organisers to axe the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Verstappen, who at 25 years old is in his ninth F1 season, is currently contracted to Red Bull on a seven-year deal through to 2028.
That will take him to 31 years old by the time that agreement is up.
“I love racing. I mean otherwise, I wouldn’t be on the simulator at home doing other kinds of stuff,” said Verstappen.
“But that’s exactly the thing. I also like to do other kinds of racing, not only Formula 1. And yeah, I know that I’ll be 31 when that’s the end of the contract.
“But I’ve, also then at that point already, been in F1 for a very long time. It’s a lot of work. I mean, it’s travelling a lot, not only the races in between returning to the factory, you have marketing commitments. And I’m really a person who loves to be at home.
“And let’s say maybe at one point, I like to be competitive, I like to win, but if you can’t fully motivate yourself to get to every race, then I think that’s the point where you have to question yourself, do you really want to continue?”
Verstappen earmarked the 24-hour sports car races at Le Mans and the Nurburgring as bucket list items on his radar.
He has often dabbled in Esports, competing in events like the Bathurst 12 Hour.
“Like I said, I love doing Le Mans, I love doing other 24-hour races, I love watching the GT3 cars go around the Nordschleife. So all these kinds of things, I do want to experience in my life,” said Verstappen.
“I don’t want to do them when I’m 40 or 50, because then I’m not at the peak of my performance. And when I’m 31, I’m pretty sure that I am still capable of doing great things. So, we’ll see.
“I mean, it also depends a bit on how competitive we’re going to be over here in ’28. So there’s still a lot of question marks.
“But yeah, I don’t want to, when I’m at that age, travel to 25 races a year and besides that travel to the UK to do simulator work, or do an appearance or commitment here and there.
“It’s too much at one point. I started driving when I was four and a half, competitively at seven. At one point, I think it’s enough to be away that much a year.”
There is, however, one sticking point.
Leaving a team at the peak of its power might be too big an ask.
Asked what he would do if Red Bull is still dominating, Verstappen replied, “I think it will be very hard to leave, for sure.”
Formula 1 resumes with the Spanish Grand Prix on June 2-4.
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