Max Verstappen refuses to think about his future with Red Bull after his fourth F1 title. But he admitted to thinking about a move to Mercedes F1 during the season.
Verstappen won his fourth world title by finishing fifth at the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix. The Dutchman joins an exclusive club of drivers who have won four consecutive championships with Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.
Despite his success over the past four years, his future in F1 – and at Red Bull – has been a recurring topic of discussion.
Mercedes expressed serious interest in recruiting Verstappen earlier this year, while he also ruled out staying beyond his 40s, unlike Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Speaking after his triumph, Verstappen was asked about his future when asked if it was not time for another challenge, with another team in F1 or elsewhere.
“Not necessarily. For me, I'm just very proud to be part of the team. We're celebrating our fourth world title together. It's definitely not on my mind. Nothing else is worrying me at the moment and l 'After-F1, as you know, I'm preparing it but it's not yet for tomorrow.'
“It's great when you win. It was a very long season, with a lot of races, a lot of good races but also a lot of difficult races. It was about optimizing according to the tracks.”
“Of course, sometimes to limit the damage. In the end, I'm just very proud of what we accomplished.”
And this Mercedes F1 rumor then?
“Yes, I thought about Mercedes. To be honest, I think in your life, every year, there are always thoughts that cross your mind, 'how much longer do I want to do this ?', 'where do I want to do this?', 'how do I want to do this?'. There are things in your private life that then happen in your life as a pilot. so always has things that you have to deal with and that you need to think about. But it doesn't matter. I think in general you are quite relaxed about these things, because it is very important to separate your private life and your life as a pilot.”
“But at the same time, I'm also not someone who makes very drastic decisions. I'm just very happy with my current situation. I'm very loyal to the team. I appreciate, of course, what “They did for me, taking me out of F3 and giving me a drive in F1 and then going through all these emotions over the years with these key people in the team.
“So when there are difficult times, it's very easy to say goodbye or forget about them or ignore them. But I think it's actually much more important to face them and get through it together, deal with it and try to move on, and then focus, of course, on the performance aspect and having fun. That's ultimately the most important thing if you're not having fun. no, there is no reason to continue.”
Despite the tougher nature of his title win, 2023 remains Verstappen's favorite season.
“Every championship is different. Last year remains my favorite, yes it was a domination, although sometimes I think some people didn't appreciate enough what we achieved. We won 10 in a row.”
“We had a dominant car, but I don't think it was as dominant as people think. This one certainly means a lot. The way we handled everything.”
Did he doubt at any point that his lead would be sufficient?
“I never really liked to believe it, but sometimes it seemed very difficult. I didn't want to give up. I'm not like that anyway. Sometimes it wasn't easy with the car, there were a clear lack of pace in some places, but we managed to get the best possible result, even more than we deserved.”
“At the end of the day, most of the time you make your own luck, and I think that's what we did most of the time.”
And, as Zak Brown, CEO of McLaren F1, arrives to congratulate him, Max responds: “you said I could only win in the best car, now that’s not the case.”
