Max Verstappen Doesn’t Want to Burden Himself With Thoughts of Breaking Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher’s Sacred F1 Record

In more than the 70-year history of F1, Max Verstappen‘s third consecutive driver’s title made him just the 10th driver to hold at least three titles. With just 6 more drivers ahead of him, his third championship has propelled him onto the list of elites. Despite the fact that he is only 26 years old, the Dutchman can already see himself achieving the highest level of success previously only attained by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. However, as per a post surfacing on Reddit, Verstappen doesn’t care about it, as he just wants to have fun.

With seven world championships each, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher currently sit deadlocked at the top. Schumacher reached the pinnacle of his career with Ferrari and has since retired. Hamilton meanwhile, won one title with McLaren and six with Mercedes.

However, the Briton is still determined to smash the world record. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, who has plenty of time to accomplish such a feat, doesn’t care much about the record. In fact, he can simply choose to call quits on the sport, fairly quickly.

Max Verstappen doesn’t desire to set his sight on the highest achievement

With six races remaining in 2023, Max Verstappen has successfully defended his championship. He has now entered the exclusive club of icons like Juan Manuel Fangio, Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Hamilton who have also won three titles in a row. So when the Dutchman was questioned about the prospect of matching Hamilton and Schumacher’s record, Verstappen, as usual responded in a straightforward way.

 

As per a post on Reddit, the 3x champ said, ” It’s not something that I’ve on my mind. Time will tell. I already achieved a lot more than I ever thought was possible, so I’m already very happy.” Besides this Verstappen has also regularly stated that he won’t race in his 40’s. A point he made at the post-race media briefing as well as he said ” If you told me you have to retire tomorrow for whatever reason, my life is good. I mean, I could do whatever I want.”

Verstappen currently has a net worth of $210 million thanks to his $60 million deal with Red Bull. However, the Dutchman, if retires before turning 30, he might miss out on a significant opportunity to become a billionaire.

How can Verstappen become a billionaire if he continues racing after his 30’s?

Max Verstappen is indisputably at the peak of his career. Despite this, he has frequently hinted at leaving the sport early. However, if he continues to compete after 2028 there’s a high probability that the three-time F1 champion might become a billionaire. This is undoubtedly a feat that rich racers like Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have not yet accomplished. Max Verstappen’s current agreement with Red Bull is $60M, which is higher than Lewis Hamilton’s. And over time the Red Bull driver is expected to make over $100M a year with the Austrian team.

Being in his early 30s gives the Dutchman an advantage in terms of age, and Business F1 reported that he can easily become a billionaire. As per the report. “According to people who should know, he [Verstappen] could easily earn that much [500 million] again before he retires and will almost certainly become Formula 1’s first driver billionaire if he chooses to carry on beyond his early thirties.”

Verstappen thinks that because F1 is such a demanding sport that asks so much from the people involved, it doesn’t promote a high-quality life. In a nutshell, Verstappen enjoys keeping interest in endeavors other than competing at the highest echelons of motorsports. Hence, given his current position at the top and the ease with which success is coming to him, the 3x champ may lean even more toward retirement.