Three times already and counting, Max Verstappen is the champion of the world. The Dutchman has been exceptional this season with a mind-boggling 13 races out of the first 16 in the season. The Dutchman is well on course to breaking his own record of 15 race wins set in the precious season. However, after winning everything there is to in the sport, what’s next for Verstappen? David Coulthard (DC) asked the Red Bull man the same question after his third championship. To answer him, Verstappen opened the same can of worms he opened a few months ago.

The Dutchman surprisingly threatened to retire from the sport after the FIA wanted to introduce more changes to the already complicated Sprint format. Verstappen was never a fan of the format to begin with and this scenario was a double whammy. So when asked about his future plans Verstappen talked about the satisfaction from his third championship, as reported by F1’s official website, and gave his various conditions to see him continue.

Speaking about the satisfaction from the third championship, he said, “This one is the best one. I think the first one was the most emotional one, because that’s when your dreams are fulfilled in F1. But this one is definitely… It has been my best year. Yeah, well, so far, you know, consecutive wins and stuff like that, and the car itself has been probably in the best shape as well. So for me, this one is probably the one I’m most proud of in a way because of consistency.”

“Yeah I mean again, I live day to day and of course, I’m enjoying the moment. Of course, next, we will find out how competitive the whole package is. Yeah, I got a couple of years left anyway on my contract, I want to do the best I can. From there on we’ll see. Also, I think it’s very important that every time you wake up and you look in the mirror you can tell yourself you’re fully committed to giving it everything I have because you’re away from home a lot, you’re traveling a lot, you’re not spending a lot of time with your family and friends. So as long as I can say to myself it’s worth it to go out there and do the best I can I will stay in Formula 1,” said Verstappen to answer DC.

He also stated that he’s not interested in winning 7 or 8 titles to break the record because it’s all relative to the car.

Read More: Why Is Max Verstappen Looking To Retire Early From F1?

Keeping his statement in mind, Verstappen life in F1 depends on a few variables. The most important being his motivation and coming in close second is his competitiveness. However, the way things are progressing in F1, he might not want to extend his contract beyond 2028.

Max Verstappen tipping toward retiring early thanks to the host of changes being introduced by the governing body

Since Liberty Media’s takeover and especially since the 2021 season, Formula 1 has changed quite a bit. The sport has introduced budgetary constraints, race format changes, changes in the entire weekend’s format, various restrictions on the tires and their use, and also increased the number of races almost every year since 2021, or at least tried to. Verstappen has been consistent with his opposition to these changes.

In fact, he has expressed his annoyance even at the suggestion of the aforementioned changes. However, this hasn’t stopped the sport’s governing body from introducing them. In a recent interview, the Dutchman blamed these extensive changes as a possible cause for his early retirement. This time it was down to the exhausting 24-race calendar which was luckily reduced to 22 races in 2023.

“It is too many [races] for me, but we just have to deal with it. I think it is a bit more logical the way that it is planned. But more things will have to come together for me to make my mind up over whether I stay longer [than 2028] or not. But I think these things are definitely not helping for sure,” said the three-time champion.

All signs point toward Verstappen retiring early. Can something or someone change his mind? Perhaps added competition toward the end of his contract might. Nothing leaves you wanting more like a little competition on the track.

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