Max Verstappen is a driver who loves to chase perfection and excellence in his driving. With three consecutive world titles, Verstappen is quite satisfied with his current successful run. Although the Dutchman has broken records left, right, and center, it doesn’t mean he wishes to beat all the landmarks and emulate Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso.
On the eve of the 2024 season opener in Bahrain, Verstappen said as quoted by Autosport, “I don’t have to stay for seven or eight world titles. I have already achieved more than I could have ever dreamed of.”
Currently, the 26-year-old is on a streak of three championships and may extend it to four by defending his title in 2024. With Red Bull looking supreme with their car advantage, there is little stopping Verstappen from winning in 2025 as well.
This impeccable dominance by the Dutchman may keep going till 2026 when the new engine regulations come into force. Still, that doesn’t mean Verstappen may fall back, as the Austrian team have worked tremendously hard to develop their own engine in collaboration with Ford for the 2026 campaign as well.
So, Verstappen has all the potential to register more championships till the end of his current contract in 2028. While the 26-year-old wishes for an early retirement, he has hinted to stay in F1 beyond 2028 as well. However, he doesn’t look to scale Fernando Alonso‘s longevity records of most races and laps raced in F1.
Now, given his current purple patch of form, Verstappen can perhaps easily even get to seven world championships like Hamilton. While it sounds ominous for competitiveness in F1, no one can take it away from the defending champion, given the way he is going currently.
Will Max Verstappen stay in F1 for long?
The way Max Verstappen is dominating, he seems to be in a hurry to wrap up his F1 career by breaking as many records as he can. It is the perfect example of living in the present and getting everything he can. Nonetheless, while he would like to stay in the sport for a long time, he doesn’t wish to stay till his 40s like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso.
The only reason the Dutchman may change his mind on an early retirement is F1 reducing the number of races. Currently, there are 24 races in a calendar year which is grueling as many drivers including Verstappen pointed out. The defending champion cited that it is “not sustainable”.
However, F1 and Liberty Media don’t seem in the mood to stop increasing the number of races. With new races like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Las Vegas, and Miami added in the recent few years, F1 stakeholders have a few more venues on their bucket list.
With the new Concorde agreement coming in 2026, F1 may shed some light on the prospects of the calendar. From Verstappen’s perspective, if he feels it is getting too out of hand, the Dutchman will look to call it quits after his current contract finishes.
