Verstappen Hints At Future Retirement Again: 'Many More Things I Want To Do'

Monday, 06 January 2025 at 16:35

Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen hinted at future retirement again as he suggested there are "many more things" that he wants to do in life.

Although Max Verstappen is still a relatively young driver (27 years old) compared to others like Fernando Alonso (43) or Lewis Hamilton (40), he has made it clear he doesn't plan to stay in F1 for too long.

The Dutchman has spoken about it multiple times in the past. He cannot imagine racing in F1 for too long, as he still wants to race in different series, compete in Le Mans, run his own racing team, and more.

The four-time world champion doesn't think that he will miss F1 after he retires. Max Verstappen now expects a child with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet and says that family will be his main focus moving forward:

"I know I can't do it forever. I love racing, competing at the highest level with so many incredible drivers but there will be a day when I want to relax a bit more. You only live once."

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"When you're at the end of your 30s, early 40s, your body is naturally declining a bit. Of course I can spend that in F1, but I also want to do other stuff. I want to maximize my lifetime on this planet."

"There are so many more things I want to do in life, have a bit of fun and catch up with my family."

"At the end of the day, that's way more important than all the success here. It's great, I love it, I love to be competitive I love to win championships, I love to win races but at one point, family comes first because people get older – and you really have to savour those moments."

For now, the four-time world champion tries to avoid burning out by not thinking about F1 when he doesn't have to - at places like home, for example.

"If I think about F1 every single day, you burn out. It's impossible. For me, it doesn't work. It's important to have different challenges also in life, I'm very busy with sim racing, it's a nice distraction from F1."

The Dutchman is probably the only driver who carries a simulator to all the races. In 2024, Verstappen even sim-raced during the official Grand Prix weekends (in Imola and Hungary) between qualifying and the Sunday race.

The four-time world champion has his own e-sports team and his goal is to make sim racing a cheaper path for younger people into the motorsport. He added: