Max Verstappen made his F1 debut at the young age of 17 and has risen up the ranks rapidly over the years. He is now 25 years old, and as two World Championships, 35 race wins and 77 podium finishes to his name. His most recent Title win in 2022 was so dominant that fans are calling for the Dutchman to break all F1 records by the time he retires.
If Verstappen continues racing at the top level until he’s 40 years old, he may well shatter all existing records in F1. However, the Red Bull ace has repeatedly insisted that he won’t be in F1 until that long. Being in the sport for as long as Hamilton or Alonso will take the fun aspect out of it, according to Verstappen.
Instead, the 25-year-old plans on exploring other racing ventures upon retiring from F1. He wants to take part in endurance racing competitions, mentioning the 24 Hours of Le Mans particularly. In an interview with motorsport.com after the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Verstappen reiterated his desire of working in a racing series that is fun, but also less stressful.
Max Verstappen gives an update on when he may retire from F1
Ahead of the start of the 2022 season, Verstappen signed a bumper contract with Red Bull that will keep him at the Milton-Keynes-based outfit until at least the 2028 season. The Dutch driver will be 31 years old at the time and claims that he will be competing for only a few years after that.
After his F1 career is over, he wants to take part in endurance racing. We’ve seen him take part in the virtual 24 hours of Le Mans for several years now but he plans on competing in the real-life version of this prestigious event. Verstappen feels that when he’s 31, he will still be at the top of his game. However, he wants to use his talent and competitiveness to take part in other ventures.
1️⃣5️⃣
An amazing way to end an incredible season for us @redbullracing & @HondaRacingGLB.
All in all, the whole season has been unbelievable and it’s been very enjoyable with the team. Thank you so much to everyone for your hard work 💪 pic.twitter.com/nsUP2qhOIj
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 20, 2022
“I also want to experience other things and just have a bit more fun with less pressure and less of a schedule,” he said.
The 2022 season was dominated by Verstappen completely. He started it off weakly, but went on to win 15 races in the season which broke Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher’s record of winning 13 each in a calendar year.
Also read: Christian Horner ‘mistakenly’ awards Rookie of the Year to Mercedes’ Toto Wolff
