Max Verstappen makes startling F1 retirement admission

Four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has revealed just how close he came to retirement earlier this year.

The 29-year-old Dutch superstar has proved himself the best driver on the grid in recent years, and not just by claiming four world titles.

Experts and fans alike point to the fact the Red Bull superstar appears to be able to extract the maximum possible from even an underperforming car.

Despite those skills, the controversial new F1 regulations which swept into the start at the beginning of 2026 had Verstappen at absolute breaking point.

He described the new regulations, which ushered in a 50-50 power unit split between the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and battery power, as 'Formula E on steroids'. 'Mario Kart' also got a dishonourable mention.

Verstappen spoke openly about potentially retiring from the sport early in the season, and his words clearly did not fall on deaf ears, with F1 already making tweaks to those new regulations with more to come in 2027 and 2028.

But how close did Verstappen really come to quitting the sport completely? Very close according to an interview he did with Erik van Haren of De Telegraaf today (Saturday October 10).

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Verstappen was 'really on the brink' of quitting F1

Verstappen was open about the level of exasperation he felt, admitting: “I was really on the brink [of retirement}.

"Especially in the first weekends of this season. I’ve never had a feeling like this before.”

Now, six months on, it is a much happier and more chilled Verstappen who speaks about his future in the sport. F1 did listen, and now his RB22 car is finally turning into what he needs to fight for race wins.

“The sport has obviously listened a little. Changes are coming in the coming years, with a slightly more important role for the combustion engine," he continued.

"Furthermore, I am really enjoying myself at Red Bull. With the people I work with and how we operate as a team.

"Look, results come first. That is the most important thing. But you also need to feel in the right place and feel appreciated. And that is definitely the case.

"The future outlook also looks positive. Is it a guarantee that I will remain active in the sport until at least 2030? You can never say that definitively, but that is the goal.”

Verstappen right back in the hunt for wins

Verstappen's recent results are already vindicating the Dutchman's decision to sign a new contract extension at Red Bull through to 2030.

He finished second in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in late September before following it up with his first race win of 2026 in the Bahrain Grand Prix (in Malaysia) last weekend.

Verstappen is now a strong favourite to claim his first ever Singapore Grand Prix victory at Marina Bay on Sunday. He began the weekend strongly by claiming pole for Saturday's Sprint race.

He spoke in depth about the struggles in getting the Red Bull setup right to enable him to challenge at the front of the grid.

“A completely different story. Last season, it was purely about the car’s setup," he revealed.

"Back then, we thought for a long time that the car couldn’t drive with a certain setup. And then it turned out it could. That was a learning experience.

"This year was different. At the start, we could have thrown any setup at the car, but that wouldn’t have improved the balance. The latest updates have helped a lot. I can find my rhythm more now and push the limit.

"Sometimes I’ve been tough, but above all clear and honest. In the team, they know I don’t mean it personally. I am simply a perfectionist and always want to get things better. Especially when I know it can actually be done better.”

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Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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