Verstappen still has the hunger: 'But one day you've had enough'

A little fact: the last time Lewis Hamilton won a Grand Prix, Max Verstappen had never won the world title. It seems like an eternity ago because after a second, extremely dominant season in a row, the Dutchman belongs to an illustrious club. For instance, Jack Brabham, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna preceded Verstappen with three world titles. Sixteen seasons Brabham, for instance, drove in Formula 1 before the Australian was fine with it. Piquet - Max's father-in-law - got to ten, before switching to IndyCar. Senna's tragic fate is, of course, well known.

Verstappen is not thinking of retirement

Sports careers never last forever. Time for something else, sometimes because there is no longer a place for you among the elite. Or that your performance has diminished. In a few cases, the main reason is that the challenge to continue on is lacking. In the case of Max Verstappen - who can always boast of his high base level - the latter would be the most logical reason to say goodbye to Formula 1 at some point.

Indeed, Verstappen can well imagine that the real hunger in Formula 1 disappears at some point. "For sure, I think that's normal," he told in Qatar. "I don't think that someone, well, of course, I'm still very young but at one point, I think you’ve had enough. I think everyone at one point has that. If that is because you realise that your body can't handle it anymore in some sports, then you have to accept that. You have to just in a way, retire but for sure at one point you might want to do other stuff or race a bit less, absolutely, but not right now."

Following in Schumacher's footsteps?

There are examples of great champions who dominated F1 for many years, only to turn out for smaller teams in the latter days of their careers and never again match their successes of yesteryear. Michael Schumacher, for example, was one such person. After world titles with Benetton and Ferrari, he came out of retirement back to the then-still middle-of-the-pack Mercedes. In three seasons for the German team, he came to one podium.

Max Verstappen finds it hard to gauge whether he can accept such an underdog role at some point in his career, especially when winning is so common for him at the moment. "It depends how far back on the grid," Verstappen said when asked. "There will be a time where you're not winning, but probably when you're driving in P15, maybe not, but if you're still fighting up front, trying to win races and you have this prospect of coming back to the top, for sure."

It's all a distant prospect. For now, Verstappen has the best car in the field at Red Bull Racing, so the chances of continuing the current success are real. That expectation was certainly not there after 2021. That year, Verstappen won his first title after a titanic battle with Lewis Hamilton, but a major rulebook change was on the cards for 2022. Then it always remains to be seen what the balance of power is going to be.

Verstappen feels no need to prove himself

By now it is clear that in 2022 Red Bull and Verstappen had their act together best. However, after that second title, there was also talk (by various media outlets) about how exceeding the budget cap put the Austrian team in a seat. Just as there was controversy in 2021 about how Verstappen beat Hamilton in Abu Dhabi. In 2023, none of that: Verstappen was the best, and no one can argue with that.

Verstappen does not see the third title as some kind of satisfaction, after '21 and '22. "It has nothing to do with that, to be honest, because I think it's more about when you look at the performance of the years because, in 21 people always talk about the last race, but I think a championship is won over the whole season, right? The same in 22, so, a little hiccup in Japan that takes a few more minutes to find out if you're a champion or not. For me, those kinds of things, they don't really matter."

"I just look at and analyse my performances race after race and not only the race, like how I handled leading up to Grands Prix and stuff and what I did off the track and it’s the same this year. That's why I think this year is, performance-wise, definitely the best one. The first one has been the most emotional one. The middle one is now the middle one," Verstappen laughed.

So the world title is in, with five Grands Prix to go. Only long after the concluding race in Abu Dhabi, at the annual FIA gala, will he be presented with his trophy. Waiting, therefore. "It's ok. They look the same. I have two at home. They're not changing. It's just one extra name on it. It's ok. I can wait a little bit. I've got one next to my SimRig and one next to the TV."