Max Verstappen says he’s closer to end of his F1 career

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands arrives for a press conference prior to the F1 Dutch Grand Prix auto race, at the Zandvoort racetrack, Netherlands, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands — Heading into his 200th career Formula 1 race, Max Verstappen is clear he doesn’t want to stick around for No. 400.

At the age of 26, Verstappen is the youngest F1 driver to reach the 200-race milestone, and he’s doing it in front of his home crowd at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday.

“No,” Verstappen said bluntly, when asked Thursday if he could imagine another 200 F1 races — equivalent to just over eight more seasons — in his future.

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“So we passed halfway for sure, but it’s been already of course an incredible ride,” he added. “It doesn’t feel like 200, but of course we’re doing a lot of races now in a year, so you add them quite quickly.”

No driver has yet reached 400 races in F1, though Aston Martin’s 43-year-old Fernando Alonso is set to mark his 395th race weekend at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Three-time defending champion Verstappen has a contract with Red Bull through 2028 and isn’t about to retire any time soon, but he seems unwilling to follow the example of Lewis Hamilton, who will turn 40 next year as he switches from Mercedes to Ferrari and is heading into his 347th race on Sunday.

One factor for Verstappen that could sway an eventual decision is the detail of the new F1 regulations being introduced for 2026.

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“Of course, ’28 is still very far away,” he said. “I’m not thinking about a new contract at the moment. I just want to see how it goes, also see the new regulations first, you know, if it’s fun or not. And then even in ’26, ’27, there’s a lot of time to decide what happens. So I just keep everything open. But yeah, I’m quite easygoing about it.”

Verstappen has been in F1 since making his debut at the record age of just 17 in 2015 with Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso. A keen online racer, Verstappen said he’d be interested in trying other real-life race series, as long as they’re less demanding than F1’s record 24-race schedule

“Once I stop in Formula 1, I would like to do other stuff a bit more,” he said. “Relaxed, less races in general, but with relaxed I mean that you have also a bit more (time at) home, because I know that once I compete in something, of course I want to be good. I want to win. But let’s see what opportunities will come by.”