F1 News: Red Bull star opens up on RETIREMENT plans

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Red Bull

Red Bull star opens up on RETIREMENT plans

A Red Bull driver has opened up about their retirement plans in a recent interview.

Sheona Mountford

Tuesday 12 March 2024 14:57

A Red Bull star has opened up about their plans for retirement in a recent interview.

Max Verstappen previously hinted at retirement when his contract ends in 2028, due to dissatisfaction with the trajectory of the sport.

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His teammate, Sergio Perez, also looked likely to leave the team after a poor 2023 season where he failed to match the pace of Verstappen.

Rumours suggested Red Bull would replace him with Daniel Ricciardo who arrived back at the team with AlphaTauri, now VCARB, last season.

Max and Jos Verstappen walking into Qatar GP Paddock 2023

Perez discusses retirement plans

In an interview with the Athletic, the Mexican driver opened up about his struggles in F1, and his plans to retire.

“As I got married in my career, as I have kids, it’s something new and something that you start to know yourself a little bit more,” Perez said. “In the end, I find (it) really important to be able to disconnect from (F1).”

“Once you become a dad, you just realize that life is much more than Formula One, or at least it’s what happened to me. … It made me more human.”

“It is not like I’m bulletproof to it… I know that if I have a bad result on Sunday, I will feel it for many weeks.”

“I know that I’m not going to be here forever, but one of my inspirations is that my youngest son gets to see me racing. So (retirement is) not going to be any time soon.”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo Sergio Perez AlphaTauri VCARB