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“Don’t feel sorry for me”: Max Verstappen talks F1 career dilemma
Max Verstappen would be sad to leave Formula 1, but continues to hint that he is laying the groundwork for an exit.
Max Verstappen has laid out plans for life after Formula 1, telling fans “you don’t need to feel sorry for me” should he exit the top tier of single-seater racing.
Verstappen has made clear on multiple occasions his dislike of the current F1 regulations, stating in China, “It’s terrible, if someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about. It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing.”
Across the Japanese Grand Prix, the four-time champion continued to drop hints that he is preparing for life after F1, with a key focus being his Verstappen.com Racing GT3 team, the outfit with which he will compete the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
“I have a lot of other projects anyway that I have a lot of passion about,” he told BBC Sport.
“The GT3 racing. Not only racing it myself, but also the team. It’s really nice and fun to build that. And I really want to build that out further in the coming years.
“It’s not like if I would stop here that I’m not going to do anything. I’m always going to have fun. And also, I will have fun in a lot of other things in my life.
“But it’s a bit sad to be honest that we’re even talking about this. It is what it is. You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I’ll be fine.”
Verstappen has long maintained that he does not intend to follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by extending his F1 career into his 40s.
Aged 28, the Dutchman has plenty of years on his side before hitting this marker, but the other criterion given for the duration of his time in the championship, is that he will only continue as long as he finds enjoyment. It is this aspect that has been lacking this term.
“I see it like this; you hear it from a lot of sports people when you speak to them about how are you successful,” he added. “It all starts with actually enjoying what you’re doing before you can actually commit to it 100%.
“Now I think I’m committing 100% and I’m still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100% I think is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I’m doing.
“And now people can easily say, ‘Yeah, well, you’ve won so many championships and races and now just because the car is not good you are complaining.’ Maybe you can see it like that, but I see it different.”
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Max Verstappen would be sad to leave Formula 1, but continues to hint that he is laying the groundwork for an exit.
Max Verstappen has laid out plans for life after Formula 1, telling fans “you don’t need to feel sorry for me” should he exit the top tier of single-seater racing.
Verstappen has made clear on multiple occasions his dislike of the current F1 regulations, stating in China, “It’s terrible, if someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about. It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing.”
Across the Japanese Grand Prix, the four-time champion continued to drop hints that he is preparing for life after F1, with a key focus being his Verstappen.com Racing GT3 team, the outfit with which he will compete the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
“I have a lot of other projects anyway that I have a lot of passion about,” he told BBC Sport.
“The GT3 racing. Not only racing it myself, but also the team. It’s really nice and fun to build that. And I really want to build that out further in the coming years.
“It’s not like if I would stop here that I’m not going to do anything. I’m always going to have fun. And also, I will have fun in a lot of other things in my life.
“But it’s a bit sad to be honest that we’re even talking about this. It is what it is. You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I’ll be fine.”
Verstappen has long maintained that he does not intend to follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by extending his F1 career into his 40s.
Aged 28, the Dutchman has plenty of years on his side before hitting this marker, but the other criterion given for the duration of his time in the championship, is that he will only continue as long as he finds enjoyment. It is this aspect that has been lacking this term.
“I see it like this; you hear it from a lot of sports people when you speak to them about how are you successful,” he added. “It all starts with actually enjoying what you’re doing before you can actually commit to it 100%.
“Now I think I’m committing 100% and I’m still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100% I think is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I’m doing.
“And now people can easily say, ‘Yeah, well, you’ve won so many championships and races and now just because the car is not good you are complaining.’ Maybe you can see it like that, but I see it different.”
Max Verstappen has laid out plans for life after Formula 1, telling fans “you don’t need to feel sorry for me” should he exit the top tier of single-seater racing.
Verstappen has made clear on multiple occasions his dislike of the current F1 regulations, stating in China, “It’s terrible, if someone likes this, then you really don’t know what racing is about. It’s not fun at all. It’s playing Mario Kart. This is not racing.”
Across the Japanese Grand Prix, the four-time champion continued to drop hints that he is preparing for life after F1, with a key focus being his Verstappen.com Racing GT3 team, the outfit with which he will compete the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
“I have a lot of other projects anyway that I have a lot of passion about,” he told BBC Sport.
“The GT3 racing. Not only racing it myself, but also the team. It’s really nice and fun to build that. And I really want to build that out further in the coming years.
“It’s not like if I would stop here that I’m not going to do anything. I’m always going to have fun. And also, I will have fun in a lot of other things in my life.
“But it’s a bit sad to be honest that we’re even talking about this. It is what it is. You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I’ll be fine.”
Verstappen has long maintained that he does not intend to follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by extending his F1 career into his 40s.
Aged 28, the Dutchman has plenty of years on his side before hitting this marker, but the other criterion given for the duration of his time in the championship, is that he will only continue as long as he finds enjoyment. It is this aspect that has been lacking this term.
“I see it like this; you hear it from a lot of sports people when you speak to them about how are you successful,” he added. “It all starts with actually enjoying what you’re doing before you can actually commit to it 100%.
“Now I think I’m committing 100% and I’m still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100% I think is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I’m doing.
“And now people can easily say, ‘Yeah, well, you’ve won so many championships and races and now just because the car is not good you are complaining.’ Maybe you can see it like that, but I see it different.”
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