Max Verstappen has been extremely outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the F1 life. He has often hinted that he wants to retire from the sport early. However, his father Jos Verstappen has quite a contradictory view of the matter as he told Sky Sports F1 that his son will remain in F1 for a long time to come.
In an interview, Jos Verstappen spoke about his son’s qualities and explained that he doesn’t think about F1 during his time off. The 51-year-old Dutchman also said, “I think he will stay in Formula 1 until 40 or 45 years old, if all the small things are there.”
Jos Verstappen: He [Max] is always calm. Never thinks about the next race. He wants to go home and relax. He doesn’t care what people think or say about him.
“I think he will stay in Formula 1 until 40 or 45 years old, if all the small things are there,” Jos says.”
— Junaid #JB17 (@JunaidSamodien_) October 29, 2023
This is contrary to what Verstappen has put out there regarding his future plans. As of now, the Red Bull star is tied to his team until at least the end of 2028, as per his current contract.
However, the three time world champion has already made it clear that he might not want to commit his future to F1 after 2028.
Verstappen told Sky Sports after the end of the 2022 season that one of the main reason behind his mindset is the hectic schedule of the sport. He said, “F1 is amazing and I’ve achieved a lot, and I’m very happy and proud about it… but it’s a lot of travelling and it’s a lot of races.”
Max Verstappen and his retirement plans
Verstappen has always maintained his desire for participating in other racing series apart from F1. He has stated that he wants to try out endurance racing at some point in his career and that too with his father. Apart from that, he is also setting up his own GT3 team, and he would definitely want to focus on that.
⚠️ Max Verstappen hints at retiring sooner than 2028 if Red Bull don’t deliver after 2026
“I don’t see myself spending three years in the midfield. I’d rather stay home or do something else. But again, I don’t see that [RB not delivering] happening.”
[@telegraaf] #F1 pic.twitter.com/cXkUQ9EQ7C
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) August 19, 2023
Verstappen has been dominating F1 for quite some time, winning three back to back titles. If Red Bull can keep up this show of domination up until 2026, then Verstappen might well have five championship titles by the time when the new regulations set in.
However, even that won’t be enough to keep Verstappen in the sport. He has explained that repetitive title wins aren’t something that can keep him interested in F1 for long. Therefore, with father and son contradicting each other, only time will tell who turns out to be correct.
