ZANDVOORT-. Prior to his 200th race of the Formula 1the Dutch Max Verstappen made it clear that he does not want to reach 400.
At 26, the Dutchman will become the youngest driver in history to reach 200 awards and he will do so in front of his home fans on Sunday at the Dutch Grand Prix.
“No,” Verstappen said bluntly when asked on Thursday if he could see himself competing in another 200 races in F1 — equivalent to another eight seasons.
“So we’re over halfway there, but of course it’s already been an incredible journey,” he added. “It doesn’t feel like 200, but of course we have a lot of races now in a year, so you add them up quickly.”
No driver has yet reached 400 races in F1, although Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso, 43, reached 395 this weekend.
Verstappen, a three-time defending F1 champion, is under contract with Red Bull until the 2028 season and has no plans to retire any time soon, but he also doesn’t want to follow the example of Lewis Hamilton, who will reach 347 races this weekend. The Briton turns 40 next year and will switch teams from Mercedes to Ferrari.
One factor that could influence a decision is the details of the new regulations that will apply from 2026.
“Of course 2028 is still a long way off,” he said. “I’m not thinking about a new contract at the moment. I just want to see how it goes, first the new regulations, to see if it’s fun or not. And then in 26, 27 there’s plenty of time to see what happens. So I leave everything open.”
Verstappen has been a part of F1 since his record-breaking debut as a 17-year-old in 2015 with Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso. A fan of video game racing, Verstappen would also be keen to try other circuits if they are less demanding than F1’s 24-race calendar.
“Once I leave F1, I would like to do other things,” he said. “Relaxed, less racing, but by relaxed I mean I want to spend a bit more time at home because I know that once I start racing something, I want to be good. I want to win. But we will see what opportunities I will have.”
