Verstappen unlikely to quit Formula One before 2028

19 August 2023 at 14:52

Last update 20 August 2023 at 13:46

Cas van de Kleut

Max Verstappen is currently the person dominating Formula 1. His current contract expires in 2028, and the Dutchman himself already indicated that he does not yet know whether he can be admired in Formula 1 after that. Helmut Marko said earlier that he would not be surprised either if Verstappen did not serve out his contract, but speaking to De Telegraaf, the reigning world champion says that things would have to get very dramatic if he wants to quit earlier.

"I also don't expect that a team can drop back that far, with all those good people walking around with us," Verstappen began. "It can always be the case in this sport that as a team you are not in a good position for a while. Then it's about what the prospects are and what the outlook is. But indeed, I don't see myself touring around in midfield for three years."

Dominance Verstappen in F1

Currently, Verstappen leads the championship with a whopping 125 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez, who is second. The rest of the competition is even further behind. The Dutchman has won 10 races out of the 12 races so far this season. At Zandvoort, the home driver could even equal a record: he will have the chance to win nine in a row like Sebastian Vettel.

Verstappen did not want to leave Red Bull

Now the two-time world champion is unbeatable, but until 2020, Mercedes' dominance prevented him from competing for the championship. Despite that, Verstappen never thought it would be better to leave Red Bull: "I did think: will it still work here? Over the years, quite a lot has changed within the team. Just look at the switch of engine supplier, from Renault to Honda, and the way they are now working on their own engine. There was always something to look forward to. That was the deciding factor to extend my contract."