Max Verstappen confirms likely F1 retirement decision | F1 | Sport
Max Verstappen has hinted he is set to stay in Formula 1 beyond the current season after expressing his delight over the sport’s planned changes for 2027. The Dutchman has been hinting for many weeks that he could call time on his F1 career unless what he feels are major problems with the new regulations are resolved.
Minor tweaks, agreed ahead of the Miami Grand Prix earlier this month, did not get much of a response from the four-time world champion. But he has reacted much more favourably to the FIA‘s recent announcement that more significant changes are set to be introduced for the 2027 season, with the finer details set to be ironed out by stakeholders in the coming weeks and months.
The general idea is to alter the current ratio of power being delivered by the new hybrid engines, which is roughly a 50:50 even split between combustion and electrical power, to decrease reliance on the battery and bring it to something close to 60:40 in favour of fuel. And while he stopped short of committing completely to the 2027 F1 season, Verstappen suggested the proposed changes will be enough to keep him on the grid.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, he said: “It’s definitely heading into a very positive direction. I think it’s like the minimum I was hoping for and I think it’s really nice that that’s what they want to do. That’s definitely what I think also the sport needs.”
Confirming that the proposed changes “definitely” improve the chances of him staying in the sport, Red Bull racer Verstappen continued: “I just want a good product in Formula 1 and that will for sure improve the product. It was also just depending on the future rules.
“So what I said before with the changes, hopefully that will happen next year, that will already help a lot. Because I’ve always said it doesn’t matter if I had a good car or not. It’s just the product and I think the product will improve like that. So naturally I think then the enjoyment will go up as well.
“Like I said before, it will make the product better so that means that I’m happier. And that’s what I want to be able to continue in F1. Yes or no, it doesn’t matter. For me, I’m happy where I’m at. I see the team really progressing, and that’s also very exciting to see.
“For me, I always wanted to continue anyway, but I always wanted to see change, and I think the change that’s coming now is definitely very positive. Or at least, I would say, almost back to normal. So that’s good. We have to wait and see if that [change] is fully confirmed. But it definitely needs to happen.”
