Max Verstappen Fuels Retirement Chatter With an Exciting Plan at 40 Taking Inspiration From F1 Legend Kimi Raikkonen

Fernando Alonso is cruising in the twilight of his F1 career at 41. However, the Spaniard has found a new lease of life with the kind of car he has got at Aston Martin. Max Verstappen is one of the biggest admirers of the Asturian driver. Despite that, he has no intention of following in his footsteps and keep driving for that long. Instead, Max has found new inspiration in none other than Kimi Raikkonen.

Kimi, after serving one of the longest careers in F1, called it quits after the end of the 2021 season. The Iceman, keeping up with his quiet and secretive lifestyle, has stayed away from the camera’s gaze since then. He has raced in a couple of NASCAR races, but that is the extent of the exposure to the camera he’s had since his F1 retirement.

Max Verstappen draws inspiration from Kimi Raikkonen’s 2006 Monaco GP shenanigans for his retirement plans

Back in 2006, Kimi raced for McLaren. During the Monaco GP that year, his heat shield caught fire, forcing him to retire from the race. All normal until now, these things happen all the time in F1. Nothing out of order. What Kimi did after that was exactly the opposite. The Iceman, instead of going into the garages, took off to go sit in his private yacht, and drink some beer, shirtless. He watched the rest of the race from there while the camera panned towards him multiple times. That is the kind of retirement plans Max has.

Talking with AS recently, when asked if he’d still be in F1 at 40, the Dutchman replied, “Yes, but possibly on the yacht to see the race. I would say not by car, but never say never. But I think I’ll be on the boat for a drink. I already have many projects that I want to do outside of Formula 1, but we’ll see. If I continue to have a competitive car, it will be very difficult to say goodbye to the sport.” [Translated using Google]

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Verstappen had some changes to suggest for the sport. He wants the drivers’ role to be limited to racing. Spending his time away from the car and tending to other commitments involving F1 is not something he is a fan of.

Verstappen rues the lack of competition; advises FIA against bringing in too many changes too often

There was a time when Lewis Hamilton, courtesy of the cars Mercedes produced, ruled the F1 world for a very long time. However, for someone who is used to competition, it became bothersome. He even talked about feeling lonely at the top. Perhaps that is the feeling setting in in his Red Bull rival as well. He talked about having a great car but urged the FIA to give enough time to other teams to catch up to him and his team.

He said, “The current one is certainly the best car I’ve driven in terms of balance, but also at the end of 2019 and in 2021 I had a good car. In the nature of Formula 1, there has always been one dominant single-seater, but in the 80s and 90s the phenomenon was more worrying, with some teams lapping the entire grid. The problem is the rules that change every four or five years and should instead be more stable to allow other teams to get closer.”

Watch This Story: Will Max Verstappen Retire Early from F1?

This is not the first time Max has talked about retiring early from F1. His current contract with Red Bull ends in 2028. Many believe he might not continue beyond that. Do you think he will if this is the kind of domination he continues to demonstrate?