Max Verstappen divulges he was close to leaving F1 when Red Bull wasn't winning

Max Verstappen recently divulged that leaving Red Bull was once on his mind before he started winning championships. Of course, it is bizarre and almost impossible to see the Dutchman leave Red Bull. However, he recalled how there was a time when he considered that option.

Verstappen explained how an F1 driver could lose faith in the process and the route a team is taking, especially after he does not see any positive results. He gave the example of Lando Norris and how he is currently struggling with McLaren.

However, he stated that the driver must have full faith in the long-term process. Verstappen told the media (via PlanetF1):

"Unfortunately, that is a bit how how Formula 1 is. If Lando would be in a race-winning car, he would regularly win races – it’s as simple as that. But sometimes you have to stick to the process, you believe in the process. Again people can say, ‘Yeah, we believe in it’ – but you really have to believe in it. You really have to know and see that you’re attracting the right people to make a winning team and really get everything into place."

Later on, Max Verstappen himself admitted that, on certain occasions, he had his doubts about certain decisions and routes Red Bull was taking.

However, he stayed loyal to them and remembered that they were the ones who gave him a chance to race in F1.

Verstappen added:

"And I did trust our process around it. Of course, sometimes you’re a bit skeptical – a new engine partner, is this going to work out? – but then you can see how much they were determined to make it work. Of course, sometimes I had my doubts: ‘Is this actually going to work? I don’t know.’

"Of course, sometimes I had this thought of maybe I should leave, but at the same time, in those years, I was also developing a lot as a driver. And you never forget who put you in Formula 1 in the first place. You also have to be loyal to that, I find."

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Haas team boss chooses Max Verstappen over Lewis Hamilton

Even though Lewis Hamilton has won seven world championships and is considered one of the best in F1, Haas team boss Guenther Steiner prefers Max Verstappen.

While being a guest in the Sky Sports F1 meme challenge, Steiner was asked whether he would take peak Verstappen or peak Hamilton for Haas. He chose the former and reasoned:

"Max. He's just on a roll at the moment, you know. He cannot do anything wrong, in my opinion, you know, everything what he does sticks, you know. So yeah, you want to go with the guy who just got the luck attached to him and he has got the talent, you know. Obviously, he's not only lucky, he's got a lot of talent," he said.

Max Verstappen is comfortably leading the drivers' championship with 229 points.