Max Verstappen is at breaking point over F1 future: 'It's not healthy'

Max Verstappen, Red Bull, Japan, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

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'It's not healthy': Max Verstappen is at breaking point over F1 future

The 2026 regulations could bring an end to Verstappen's F1 career

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 29 March 2026 20:20

Four-time champion Max Verstappen has addressed the very real possibility that he could call time on his F1 career at the end of the current season.

For the first time since 2021, Verstappen headed into a new campaign this season without holding the title of reigning champion, having lost out to Lando Norris in 2025 by just two points in the drivers' standings.

But neither Verstappen nor Norris have proved themselves as frontrunners so far in 2026 as the chassis and power unit regulations have been completely overhauled, with the focus on electrical energy almost tripled as a result.

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But this is a change that has not gone down well, and no one has rallied against the new ruleset quite like Verstappen.

After just three races in the 2026 season, the 28-year-old has labelled his new RB22 'undriveable', said he finds the task of handling the new machinery 'anti-racing,' and has summarised his experience of being at the wheel of the new and supposedly improved cars as leaving him 'emotionally drained'.

So drained in fact that it has quickly become clear that his talk of retirement is not just talk.

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Verstappen addresses F1 commitment as retirement talks ramp up

Fresh off the back of a disappointing and rather unlucky disqualification in the Nurburgring Langstrecken-Serie, Verstappen took to the Suzuka International Circuit this weekend hoping to find that he could restore faith in Red Bull, who had brought major upgrades to the third grand prix of the season.

But sadly, this is not what the Dutchman found, even claiming that the different aero package he was running seemed like it was 'not working'.

Come the chequered flag in Japan, Verstappen wound up down in P8, his worst grand prix result since last year's Hungarian GP when he finished down in ninth.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live after the Japanese GP, Verstappen commented further on his future after another disappointing result, saying: "I see it like this: You hear it from a lot of sports people when you speak to them about how are you successful. It all starts with actually enjoying what you're doing before you can actually commit to it 100 per cent.

"Now I think I'm committing 100 per cent and I'm still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100 per cent I think is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I'm doing.

"And now people can easily say, 'Yeah, well, you've won so many championships and races and now just because the car is not good you are complaining.' Maybe you can see it like that, but I see it different."

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen 2026 regulations Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka