Max Verstappen to quit F1? Dad Jos admits his biggest fear at Japanese Grand Prix

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen to quit F1? Dad Jos admits his biggest fear

Max Verstappen and Red Bull have had a difficult start to the year

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 28 March 2026 11:55

Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen's dad has raised questions about his son's motivation to stay in the sport long term, following the regulation changes.

2026's new rules have not been greeted with warmth by Verstappen, who called them a 'joke' following the Chinese Grand Prix in which he was lapped before having to retire his Red Bull car.

Red Bull have struggled so far this year, both with reliability and pace compared to their rivals Mercedes and Ferrari.

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Verstappen has claimed just eight points from two race weekends, and is already 43 points behind early championship leader George Russell.

And now, his father Jos Verstappen has suggested that the new regulations might just be pushing the four-time world champion away from F1.

"You hear that it is a matter of getting used to it, but I am certain that Max is not going to get any enjoyment out of it this way," Verstappen senior told De Telegraaf. "Of course, he always tries to make the best of it; that is separate from it.

"Together with Red Bull, he is doing everything he can to become more competitive. But racing in these cars does not challenge him. To be honest, I am afraid that Max will lose his motivation. He used to think racing in a Formula 1 car was the best thing there was, but now I am quite pessimistic. I would like to say that it wasn't the case, but I do see this becoming a problem with an eye on his future."

Verstappen senior also believes that his son is listened to, although he believes it will come too late this year: "They really do listen to him, I am convinced of that. And it is possible that they will change some small things in the regulations this year, but that won't make a difference.

"I hope that major changes can come for next season, or at least the year after. I am mainly happy that Max just says it like it is. Right now it happens to be my son, but I think we should appreciate that drivers like that still exist."

Verstappen's enjoyment coming from elsewhere

While the 2026 regulation changes - which see a much bigger emphasis on electrical energy and greater responsibility on the drivers to manage their battery - have clearly not been Verstappen's cup of tea, he has been enjoying racing away from F1.

Last weekend, he took to the Nurburgring Nordschleife to take part in an NLS race weekend. The Dutchman and his team claimed a pole position-race victory double on-track, before that was snatched away from them hours later via a disqualification for exceeding the maximum tyre usage.

Nevertheless, Verstappen used that race as preparation for the 24 Hours of Nurburgring race later in May which he has entered into, and he has admitted that his GT Racing team ownership is becoming 'more serious'.

On top of this, Verstappen's sim racing team previously known as Team Redline has recently undergone a name change to bring it closer to the Verstappen name, being renamed Verstappen Sim Racing.

It's clear that Verstappen has plenty of hobbies away from F1, and his lack of enjoyment in the series could lead him to walk away in the coming years.

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen 2026 regulations Japanese Grand Prix Jos Verstappen