Max Verstappen still leaves doubt about his medium or long term participation in F1.
The Dutchman won't have a career like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, that's for sure, but the Red Bull driver doesn't yet know when to call time on his career at the top of motorsport either.
For now he wants to enjoy it even if family is starting to become more and more important to him and will be an element to consider in the fairly near future.
“I love F1, I have a contract until 2028. After that I don't want to think about it yet. A lot of things can happen. But for now I'm very happy with where I am am,” he confides to the official F1 website.
This is another strong point of Verstappen: he never indulges in too much projection into the future, which annoyed his father when he was younger and climbing the racing ranks.
“It's a discussion that I always had with my father when I was a child. I always said 'we'll see' and my father didn't understand. 'What do you mean, we'll see? It's not an approach '. And I replied 'but it's mine!'
“I don't like to stress. I don't like to think too much or overcomplicate things. I know when I jump in the kart or in the car. Once I put my helmet on, I'm in. That makes me keeps me sane, I guess! I'm just very relaxed and calm about it. I don't want to burn my brain with too many thoughts about how I can influence certain things.”
“Now he understands and everything is fine. I needed to be pushed when I was a child, my father certainly did and I'm very happy that he did because that's what made me the driver I am today.”
“I'm very happy with how my life started in racing, all the way to F1. Sometimes I was a little lazy, but my father made me understand what we were doing and what it was for. I'm very grateful for how we grew and how we got to the top.”
Today, Verstappen is looking for a better balance between F1 on the one hand and his personal life on the other. Especially since he is about to become a father for the first time.
“What works for me is that when I go home, I don't think about F1 unless I have to go to the factory. Of course, in the back of my mind, it's always there – but it’s very important to be able to disconnect.”
“If I think about F1 every day, I get exhausted. It's impossible. For me, it doesn't work.”
“It's important to have different challenges in life too, I'm very busy with sim racing, it's a good distraction from F1. I also want it to be a success. Being constantly involved with young talents, it’s very exciting.”
“When I go to the factory, I dedicate all my time to the team, to finding improvements – and of course during the race weekends. It's important to find something else in your life to focus on – and this in addition to his normal family life.”
Chaining successes and titles has been a bonus for Verstappen since 2021. But where does the bonus stop? Up to eight world titles, a record still not reached?
“That would be amazing but it’s not really necessary.”
“I know I can't do it forever. I love racing, racing at the highest level with so many incredible drivers, but there will come a day when I want to relax a little more. only lives once.”
“When you're in your late 30s, early 40s, our bodies naturally decline a bit. Of course, I can spend this decade in F1, but I also want to do other things. I want to maximize my life on this planet.”
“There are so many other things I want to do in life, have a little fun and be reunited with my family. Nowadays, sometimes my mom or dad calls me, and I'm busy, so I say that I'll call them back later – but I also know that there will be a day when they won't call me anymore because they won't be there anymore.”
“These moments make me realize that it's not all about F1. I want to spend time with them, because since I was four, our whole life – my family's life – has been about me, about success and trying to reach F1, at some point it's enough and you have to return the favor and spend more time with them.
“At the end of the day, it's way more important than any success in F1. It's great, I love it, I love being competitive, I love winning championships, I love winning races, but At some point, family comes first because people get older and you really have to savor those moments.”
“For now, I'm very happy with what I'm doing. I'm going to try to do it as long as possible, so that I enjoy it and feel like it's worth it.”
