Max Verstappen addresses the possibility of him leaving Red Bull and trying to achieve success with another team
Max Verstappen has shrugged off suggestions that he would maybe look at a future beyond Red Bull where he tries to go for a different challenge of winning with another team. The Dutch driver joined F1 in 2015 with the junior team of the Austrian brand.
Verstappen clinched his fourth successive title at the Las Vegas GP on Sunday, November 25. This victory arguably proved to be one of the toughest for the 27-year-old as it involved an intense battle in a car that was not the fastest anymore. This has also led to speculation that Max Verstappen, who has a contract until the end of 2028, could move away from Red Bull after 2025 if he does not think the team could challenge for the title.
As quoted by the Independent on Friday, November 29, the driver refuted any such claim and said that he would prefer to end his career with Red Bull Racing.
"It is not like I need to try to win the world championship somewhere else. That is not a desire from my side. I am just happy where I am at. And it would also be very beautiful if you just could stay with one team and race there forever. I would like to believe (that could be with Red Bull). That is the target."
By 2016, Max Verstappen was already a Red Bull Racing driver and impressed everyone by winning his first race with the team. Since then, it's been a journey of growth and dominance for the driver, who has gone on to win three more titles, the most recent being a result of successfully fending off a late-season challenge from Lando Norris this year.
Max Verstappen not interested in 'legacy' as perceived by others
Speaking via the aforementioned source, Max Verstappen admitted that he's not too interested in the legacy as it is perceived by others. In terms of building a legacy, some of the greatest talents in F1 history have done so by winning with multiple different teams.
Drivers like Lewis Hamilton or Michael Schumacher built their careers by winning with multiple teams in different circumstances. Verstappen, however, is not bothered by convention or how others define success.
"Am I bothered about a legacy? No. I don’t value my success because of what other people say. If I am happy, that is all that matters. In sport, you also need a bit of luck to be in the right team for a long time. It doesn’t mean that the guy with the most titles is actually the best.”
While Max Verstappen has now been part of F1 for a decade, the driver has expressed concerns over the direction in which the sport is going, sparking speculation among the F1 fraternity as to what the future holds for the Dutchman.