Max Verstappen says he is “already happy” with his achievements in Formula 1 after questioning his long-term future in the sport.
The two-time world champion has been very vocal about his views on the direction of F1 and the Sprint format in particular, claiming in Australia that he would walk away if he felt it was “not worth it” anymore.
In Baku, Verstappen reiterated that point and explained how the increased demands of F1 could end up taking over the lives of those involved.
“I always said that even if there won’t be any more sprint races, if we keep expanding the calendar and the whole weekend is that long, at one point you question yourself: is it worth it?” he said.
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“I do like racing. I do like winning. I know that, of course, there is the salary and everything, and you have a good life. But is it actually a good life? Sometimes, you get to a point in your career where maybe you want to do other stuff.
“I have the contract until the end of 2028 and then we’ll review again, but I do feel that if it’s getting at one point too much, then it’s time for a change.
“You always have to be talking to yourself, looking at yourself – ‘are you still motivated?’ and at the moment that is definitely the case but there will for sure be a point where you want to do other stuff as well.
“Sometimes, this sounds very weird for people on the outside… ‘you’re in Formula 1, you are winning’ – I would have probably said the same when I was in their position but when you are in it, it is not always how it looks or what people think.
“Yes, it is great, it is amazing and you can do a lot of things but there is always a limit to certain things.”
Verstappen has made no secret of his wish to compete outside F1 once this stage of his career ends, with a move to endurance and GT racing seemingly high on his agenda.
And the 25-year-old, who has raced in F1 for eight years already let’s not forget, isn’t going to delay that in the pursuit of records.
“I’m not interested in winning seven or eight titles,” he said. “If you have the car to do it great, but I am already happy so it’s OK.
“I want to do other things, other competitions. A bit like Fernando [Alonso] did. But it also needs to be worth it to come back [to F1].
“Some people just love racing and that’s the only thing they know and the only thing they want to do. I am probably a bit more in the middle.
“I mean, I do love racing. But I also want to do other kinds of racing and then you can’t combine the two or set up other kinds of stuff.”