25 YO Max Verstappen On the Verge of “Early Burnout”; Asked to Look At Fernando Alonso For Help

Sabyasachi Biswas | 24/08/2023
25 YO Max Verstappen On the Verge of "Early Burnout"; Asked to Look At Fernando Alonso For Help

Max Verstappen has been tasting constant success in F1 since his title win in 2021 and has dominated the grid for well over two years. Experts believe that the Red Bull driver might now be tired of winning races. Since there is no competition for him at the moment, experts are also of the opinion that this might lead to him taking an early retirement. If that is the case, former world champion Damon Hill has a solution according to Sky Sports‘ recent discussion panel.

Following his title win in 2021, Verstappen started his own era of domination. He won the 2022 title with four races to spare. Plus, with how things are going, he may seal the 2023 championship with even more races to spare.

With 10 wins in 12 rounds, Verstappen is winning like it’s a walk in the park, and according to reports this might give him the feeling that he has accomplished everything in F1 and look for early retirement. However, Hill has a solution, as he cites 2-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

The Spanish driver was one of the stars of the post-Michael Schumacher era. Alonso has competing at a high level for very long, and even at the age of 42, is showing no signs of slowing down.

Hill has Alonso’s example for Max Verstappen

Verstappen was the hot topic during a recent panel discussion between F1 experts, such as Damon Hill, Natalie Pinkham, Matt Baker, and Blake Hinsey. There, Hill started talking about a possible “burnout” for Verstappen.

Talking about this, he said, “I mean we’re talking about very early burnout, aren’t we? If that’s the case I mean you look at Fernando [Alonso], who’s had incredible entry. He had a bit of time out as did Kimi [Raikkonen.]

Following this, he added, “You do wonder whether sometimes these drivers need a kind of reset year where they kind of go okay I want to do all these other things I don’t have time for when I’m a Formula 1 driver.” He then wrapped up by saying that the drivers who came back from a break had more enthusiasm to race and win Grand Prixs.

Is Verstappen actually bored of winning?

Max Verstappen has voiced his disinterest to continue in the sport multiple times. However, it doesn’t seem like its because he is getting bored. The two-time world champion is not done winning as yet and is raring to go for more.

According to an interview with Sky Sports, the Red Bull driver said he is not bored of winning and is still motivated “to win even more.” When asked if it is uninteresting for him to win races by 20 seconds margin, he stated that he wants to increase the gap further.

Given the advantage he has this season already, Max Verstappen can very well pick his third straight title at the Qatar Grand Prix. Staggeringly, even if he does not win a race from here on, he will still win the title. Therefore, experts believe it is only wise of him to continue in the sport as long as he is dominating.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Damon Hill Fernando Alonso Max Verstappen

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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