Max Verstappen has repeatedly insisted that he won’t extend his F1 career into his late 30s. He wants to step away from the sport to explore other interests, including online racing – something that, according to F1 expert Adam Wylde, could pay off significantly.
Verstappen has expressed interest in endurance racing once he leaves F1, with the 24 Hours of Le Mans being a long-time goal. However, he would have to make drastic changes to his training to prepare for those races. In the online world, however, he’s already a star.
He has participated in several prestigious sim racing tournaments and even won them, sometimes despite their overlap with real-life F1 race weekends.
Have a look at Max Verstappen’s sim racing setup pic.twitter.com/Yu36uwMu5z
— Formula God (@formula1god) January 6, 2023
“I think I get the sense that he really likes doing his online racing,” said Wylde on the Nailing the Apex podcast. “There is a lot of scale and a lot of money in that. A guy like that, if he decided, I’m done being in the cockpit and risking my life. I’m going to run this race team that’s digital.
“Right now, at least the way the world’s going, it seems like it’s a pretty good investment,” he added.
Streaming online can earn millions, especially for someone as famous as Verstappen. Online gaming or racing could easily become an alternate career for the three-time World Champion. He’s also a brand ambassador for EA Sports, the creators of the official F1 game.
While the timing of Verstappen’s retirement is still uncertain, he recently dropped a hint about when it might happen.
Verstappen claims he will leave F1 if it keeps changing
In Singapore, Verstappen was penalized for defying the FIA’s new ‘no swearing’ rule during interviews. The governing body sentenced him to community service, a decision that upset him deeply. In protest, Verstappen answered questions with one or two words in the subsequent press conference.
Later that weekend, Verstappen expressed that the constant changes in F1, like the new rule, could lead him to retire sooner than expected.
If Verstappen does retire, his immediate focus will shift to running his own GT3 team, Verstappen.com Racing. He plans to field two cars in the discipline by 2025, with inspiration drawn from his sim-racing team, Team Redline.
“With Verstappen.com Racing, we are sponsoring and supporting various racing activities involving people close to me,” Verstappen told Motorsport. “We are active in DTM and the GTWC Sprint with Thierry Vermeulen and with my father in rallying, but the ultimate goal is to build our own race team.”
From streaming during race weekends—which even landed him in trouble earlier this year—to launching his team, Verstappen’s goal goes beyond driving. He may even lead the team as a driver himself one day.
