Max Verstappen’s future in F1 remains a big question at the moment. Two angles are being actively assessed; he will either retire or stay in the sport but switch teams.
In the first case, he said earlier that he would evaluate the remaining races to make a final decision. However, he’s also aiming for a 5th title, whose chances are slim this year, which he’s aware of, but this did give a slight bit of reassurance that he might consider remaining in the sport. Alternatively, fans have also speculated that he might move to another top team to begin a new era amid Red Bull’s struggles.
This speculation was also backed by Guenther Steiner, former Haas team principal, who recently revealed that Verstappen appears to be exploring his options outside Red Bull. He gave an example of Lewis Hamilton replacing Carlos Sainz, trying to put across the point on how some teams often prefer generational talent.
Verstappen is considering other top teams as F1 future grows uncertain
In a conversation with casino.org, Steiner said that, in his opinion, Verstappen can only consider three teams: Mercedes, McLaren, and Ferrari. He thinks that while a seat might not be available for him at the moment, the question remains whether the teams are ready to make a place for him or not. “Who is prepared to sacrifice what they’ve got now for Max, because Max is, in my opinion, the champ, he’s the GOAT. He’s not the world champion, obviously, that is Lando, but he is a four-time world champion,” he said, referring to the Dutchman’s championship streak and one of his potential options, McLaren.
He believes that teams might think about their decision to take Verstappen by giving an example of the Hamilton-Sainz situation at Ferrari. “Just look back at when Ferrari let Carlos [Sainz] go, who was doing a good job, because the GOAT Lewis Hamilton came around. So, I think something like this needs to happen, but that is the thing Max will be looking for. And I’m pretty sure we don’t have to tell him to do that.”
He believes that Verstappen might speak to these three teams and make a decision on what’s best for him. But he feels that there is not one team that is fully focused on signing him.
Verstappen didn’t think about his F1 future during the April break
Ahead of racing at the Nürburgring 24 hours endurance race, Verstappen was asked if he had the time to think about his F1 future in April, when Bahrain and Saudi races were cancelled. He revealed that he has no new update on his retirement and that he was busy with other things during the break. In April, Verstappen returned to Nordschleife to prepare for the May race and participate in Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS). He claimed that he has time and is taking time to reach an ultimate decision.
