Will Verstappen take a sabbatical in 2026? "Then he could go anywhere"

Max Verstappen has been very vocal about his future in Formula 1. He has made it very clear that he is not a fan of the new regulations that will imposed during the 2026 season, and he also made it clear that if Helmut Marko were to leave Red Bull Racing after the turmoil the team went through before the Bahrain Grand Prix, then he would do the same. Those rumours seemed to have died down, but former F1 driver Karun Chandhok believes that Verstappen will take a sabbatical during the 2026 season.

Chandhok says Verstappen can 'go anywhere' after a potential 2026 sabbatical

There have been a lot of rumours circling Verstappen and his future at Red Bull Racing. Since the allegations that were made against Christian Horner came to light, there has been unrest at the Austrian team. We already know that Adrian Newey will take his talents elsewhere after leaving Red Bull, and there was talk of Helmut Marko leaving Red Bull with all the turmoil that had gone on. As a result, there was plenty of talk, even from Verstappen himself, that he could leave Red Bull because of this fallout. Because of this, Chandhok believes that Verstappen "could have a year out in 2026", which he said during the Sky Sports F1 Podcast.

"We would never have thought of Verstappen leaving the team until all of the stuff unfolded around Bahrain or before Bahrain. So it is a really strange market and a really difficult one to read. Increasingly, I think Max will stay at Red Bull for 2025. I think he will take 2026 off and have a year out, see what happens. Then in 2027, he could go anywhere, couldn't he? And he will go off."

Verstappen could take on 'Le Mans and other forms of racing' in 2026

"He's talked about his ambitions of doing Le Mans and other forms of racing," continued Chandhok. "I think he'll do something in 2026, have a year off in F1, and see who hits the ground running with the new regs."

And where would Verstappen end up in 2027? This is what Chandhok believes: "Lewis would have done his two-year contract at Ferrari, '25-'26. He could go to Ferrari in '27. He could go to Mercedes in '27. He could go back to Red Bull in 27. I think that could happen. And also stick around in 25 when you know the car's going to be good enough for you to become a five-time world champion. So I think that's what Max will do."