Max Verstappen has often spoken about wanting to try motorsport disciplines other than F1, largely due to how much the sport has changed since he made his debut nine years ago. Now, Helmut Marko gives a timeline as to when the F1 paddock could have to bid adieu to the three-time world champion.
Verstappen currently has a contract with Red Bull until the 2028 season. While speaking to GrandPrix 247 about the team’s future drivers, Marko stated that Liam Lawson or Arvid Lindblad will be ready in three years.
However, he isn’t sure if Verstappen will be racing in F1 at the time. “If Max feels he doesn’t enjoy F1 anymore, he doesn’t want it, he will come to us and say thank you that’s it,” said Marko.
Max has a contender for a possible 24 Hours of Le Mans participation pic.twitter.com/oNvp14qGya
— Max Verstappen (@VerstappenCOM) June 15, 2024
At the same time, that won’t be the end of Verstappen’s racing career as Marko insists that the Dutchman could be headed to Le Mans to race with his father Jos.
“I don’t want to be team principal there because of those two strong characters. But it could be a fantastic experience.” , added the Austrian.
At 26, Verstappen has already established himself as a legend of F1. He has three world titles to his name, but he has always wanted to be successful in other ventures as well.
Verstappen’s dreams away from F1
Verstappen, in addition to F1, is a huge fan of GT cars. The F1 community knows him for his late-night streaming sessions, where he plays sim-racing with his friends. But they aren’t Formula spec cars.
Verstappen takes part in virtual endurance races and has even competed in and won the Virtual 24 Hours of Nurburgring and Le Mans. However, that’s not all, as the Dutchman also wants to use sim racing as a platform for nurturing motorsport talent.
Monaco ✅ Le Mans
Fernando and Max about the possibility of racing the 24 hours of Le Mans! pic.twitter.com/ZesRshqDkz
— Max Verstappen (@VerstappenCOM) May 24, 2023
With his venture – Verstappen.com racing – lined up too, he aims to help aspirant drivers who race on simulators get into GT3. The Red Bull driver has plans to set up his GT3 team with his associations with Team Redline acting as a bridge for young sim racers to groom themselves for the real world of racing.
Racing is in Verstappen’s blood, and he will stay connected to it for long, even if it is not in the pinnacle of motorsport – F1.
