In an interview with Channel 4’s Steve Jones, Max Verstappen once rated his happiness level as nine on a scale of 1 to 10. When Jones asked him to elaborate further, the Dutchman mentioned that having a bit more free time would make it go to 10.
Verstappen stated, “I am happy with the driving. I am happy with in general the life I am living of course. But I’ll be probably happier if I have a bit more free time”.
The Red Bull driver is rarely free with the F1 season going on for nine to ten months of the year. Even during the summer and winter breaks, Verstappen has to attend events and visit the team’s factory for several duties.
: Verstappen expresses concerns about F1’s demanding schedule and growth-driven changes, raising doubts if the hectic lifestyle is still worth it. He questions changes that don’t benefit the sport and highlights the toll on well-being due to extensive off-track activities, even… pic.twitter.com/tV46Bk51G7
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The current F1 calendar has 24 races and the additional events don’t leave much leisure time for the three-time champion. Still, Verstappen ensures to have the best of the available free time, doing sim racing, and spending time with his family, friends, and his girlfriend.
F1 drivers often look to spend a lot more family time once they retire before taking any new gigs for commentary or punditry or a return to racing in other categories. Even Verstappen has hinted that he may look to retire early from the sport for his family’s sake.
The Dutchman has stated multiple times how he wishes to retire by the age of 31, which is in 2028 when his current Red Bull contract ends. Verstappen has multiple reasons for planning this early retirement, with the hectic nature of F1 being one of the primary ones.
Verstappen’s view on early F1 retirement
When asked to elaborate on why he wishes to leave the sport early, Verstappen highlighted that he has achieved all he wanted to in F1. Besides, the 26-year-old also wants to try out other disciplines of motorsport including endurance racing, GT racing, and even undertake sim racing more seriously.
Verstappen also has plans to set up a GT3 team of his own with the help of his sim racing team Redline and his venture Verstappen.com. So, with so many plans in the pipeline away from F1, the Dutchman may want to dedicate his efforts toward them rather than racing in F1 until he is 40.
He also feels racing till 40 like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have done won’t be possible for him, given the increased hecticness in F1. However, Hamilton and Alonso also made similar claims in their younger days, over a decade ago. So, it would be interesting to watch whether Verstappen sticks to his word or not.
