Max Verstappen reiterates how long he wants to race in F1

Max Verstappen has again shed light on the topic of his possible retirement from the F1 world. He was asked whether he would be content to walk away from the sport without winning any more world championships, with the example of Fernando Alonso. He replied that he wouldn't stay on the grid until he's 44, unlike the Spaniard.

The Dutchman is contracted to race for Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season. This deal was signed in 2022, when Verstappen had only won a solitary world championship.

Fast-forward to 2025, and he is a four-time champion, winning all his titles in succession from 2021 to 2024. However, McLaren has overtaken the Austrian giant as the benchmark on the F1 grid, as the latter's prospects of fighting for the title are minuscule.

With the question about how long Verstappen wanted to stay in the sport lingering in the background, the reigning champion told ESPN:

"I probably won't continue until I'm 44... I think this has already been more than I could have ever dream of, you know, back in the day. So, of course, I'm very happy and proud of what I have achieved so far and you never know, maybe you will not win a championship again. That's something that can happen, but it's not really on my mind."

The 27-year-old sits third in the championship standings, with McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris having a substantial advantage over the Dutchman.

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Max Verstappen shares his mindset for the second half of 2025

Max Verstappen celebrating his runner-up result at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen's charge for a fifth title in 2025 has ended before the summer break. The Red Bull camp admitted that its star driver would not be in contention for the glory in the following race weekends, way earlier in the season.

So, when asked about how the four-time champion would tackle the upcoming race weekends, Verstappen said in the press conference, ahead of the Dutch GP.

"Just try to make the best of it. Every single race we can try to see if there are opportunities and try to learn more about the car. Of course, next year will be very different with the car, but I'm still very curious also to understand the current car a bit more and where we can find a bit more performance to make it a bit easier for ourselves."

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen took two race victories in the first seven race weekends of this season, but since then, the RB21 has plummeted in pace, as portrayed by his two podiums in the following eight race weekends.

Thus, Verstappen's emphasis would remain on maximizing the results with the woeful Red Bull, as his car can throw some tantrums when it's not in its working window, as was seen at the Hungarian GP.