{"id":453067,"date":"2026-02-04T10:11:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:11:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/453067\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T10:11:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T10:11:07","slug":"verstappen-closes-the-door-on-a-formula-1-return-after-his-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/453067\/","title":{"rendered":"Verstappen closes the door on a Formula 1 return after his retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under contract with Red Bull<\/a> Until the end of the 2028 season, the Dutchman is already looking beyond the paddock, with a clear attraction to…Endurance<\/a> and projects combining simulation and real motorsport.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

At only 28 years, Verstappen<\/a> still dominates the premier category, finishing just two points behind the world champion Lando Norris<\/a> in 2025, but he doesn’t hide his realism about the brevity of a career at the top. In recent seasons, he has regularly reminded everyone that he is not in Formula 1<\/a> To participate, but to win. A philosophy that will also shape the rest of his journey.<\/p>\n

“I’m only here to win. Just being here to participate isn’t sustainable for me; it’s no longer fun.”he explained on the show On the Racetrack from TAG Heuer. A statement that fuels speculation about a potential departure in the medium term, especially when the new technical regulations of 2026 come into effect.<\/p>\n

No retraining in offices<\/p>\n

While several former drivers have chosen to remain in the shadow of the organizations they left their mark on, like Jean Todt, Frank Williams<\/a>And until recently, Christian Horner, Verstappen clearly ruled out this prospect. When asked about the possibility of returning to Formula 1 in a managerial role after hanging up his helmet, the Red Bull driver was categorical.<\/p>\n

“I enjoy being in F1 as a driver, but I don’t think I’ll ever return to F1 in a management role.”he assured, specifying that he was looking more towards other categories, “more endurance-oriented”.<\/p>\n

For several months, the Dutchman has been mentioning his interest in the World Endurance Championship (WEC<\/a>) and legendary races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans<\/a>, a field that is attracting more and more stars from the car<\/a>While nothing is yet official, this discipline could constitute one of his future arenas of expression when his chapter in F1 comes to a close.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Focusing on the bridge between virtual and real<\/p>\n

Beyond pure competition, Verstappen has a project that is particularly close to his heart: helping drivers from the simulation world to access real-world motorsport. A big fan of eSports and involved in several sim racing initiatives, he has already taken a first step this season by accompanying a virtual driver on the track.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ >\u00a0Karting and sim racing: Jenson Button’s advice for getting started in motorsport<\/a><\/p>\n

During the ninth round of the N\u00fcrburgring Endurance Championship (NLS), Max Verstappen teamed up with Chris Lulham, a sim racing driver for Team Redline, a team sponsored by Verstappen Racing and Red Bull. The two men secured victory in their… Ferrari 296 GT3<\/a> of Emil Frey Racing at the end of the 4-hour race.<\/p>\n

“One of my goals is to transition a simulator pilot into the real world. This has already happened this year and he’s doing very well.”he explained enthusiastically. It’s an approach he wants to develop in the long term, away from the F1 spotlight, but always in the service of talent scouting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to grow this project organically, because it\u2019s something I truly enjoy. And in the future, beyond Formula 1 as well. Creating opportunities for young drivers who can\u2019t afford a real racing car.\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n

A future that is still open, but with conditions<\/p>\n

While Verstappen hasn’t ruled out extending his F1 career beyond 2028, he regularly reiterates that his enjoyment of driving and his ability to fight for victory will be crucial. Failing that, a retirement in his thirties remains a plausible scenario, consistent with his desire not to remain at the highest level indefinitely.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Dutchman remains fully focused on his current objectives with Red Bull. But his statements already outline the contours of a post-Formula 1 career very different from that of many former drivers: far from the boardrooms of Milton Keynes, more focused on Endurance racing and training the next generation, coming from the virtual world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Under contract with Red Bull Until the end of the 2028 season, the Dutchman is already looking beyond…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[441],"tags":[49,48,578,576,577,1885,1882,82,1194],"class_list":{"0":"post-453067","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-formula-1","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-f1","11":"tag-formula-1","12":"tag-formula1","13":"tag-max-verstappen","14":"tag-red-bull","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-wec"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}