Max Verstappen reveals what he 'very much hopes for' in F1 by the time he retires

Max Verstappen hopes that by the time he retires, there will be someone from his country to take over the reigns from him. Verstappen is one of the very few Formula 1 drivers to have emerged from the Netherlands.

The Red Bull star followed in his father's footsteps and was one of the few Dutch drivers in the sport. Next season will feature two drivers from the Netherlands as Nyck de Vries will be driving for AlphaTauri.

In a recent interview with De Limburger, Max Verstappen revealed that one thing that he hoped by the time he retired was that he would be able to inspire many young Dutch kids to become F1 drivers. He said:

"Do you know what I very much hope for? That as a driver I have been able to inspire and motivate the young Dutch generation in recent years to such an extent that by the time I stop, there might be new talent ready."

Max further said:

"It used to be always said that it was impossible for the Dutch to make it to Formula 1. It’s not. If you’re accelerating, it doesn’t matter where you come from. I hope that when I am 31, there will just be a new one ready."

Looking back at the 2022 F1 season, Max Verstappen picked the race win in Spa as his favorite. He said:

"In terms of racing, it was winning at Spa from the midfield. It was really great how everything came together for us there. Our car was perfect. Winning the World title was of course the highlight."

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The confusion around title win in Japan was not a dampener: Max Verstappen

When Verstappen finally sealed the title in Japan, there were still doubts over whether he had won the title. It was a curtailed race and nobody was sure how the points were going to be distributed. Before the official confirmation, there was a lack of clarity over whether Verstappen had won the title.

When questioned if that dampened the euphoria around a championship win, Verstappen, in his typical candor, revealed that it didn't matter much in the end. He said:

“For me it didn’t. If you ever finish and you look back, you don’t think about how you became World Champion. What matters is that you became it. The way in which [it happens] doesn’t matter. My father and I have always said that to each other: it doesn’t matter how you win, as long as you win.”

Max Verstappen will be defending his title next season against a rejuvenated Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, and a determined Ferrari with Charles Leclerc. It will be interesting to see how the 2023 F1 season pans out.