{"id":30388,"date":"2025-07-29T05:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T05:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/30388\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T05:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T05:56:11","slug":"max-verstappen-interview-on-fatherhood-red-bulls-slide-and-the-road-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/30388\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen interview: On fatherhood, Red Bull\u2019s slide and the road ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

This spring, the world learned how Max Verstappen<\/a>\u2019s life changed, though not as drastically as some may have assumed.<\/p>\n

The Dutchman and his partner, Kelly Piquet, announced the birth of their daughter, Lily, ahead of the 2025 Miami Grand Prix<\/a>. Considering Lily is his first child, the new chapter in the reigning world champion\u2019s life triggered questions about how it might affect his performance. After securing pole position a day later in Miami, Verstappen joked, \u201cClearly it didn\u2019t make me slower, being a dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adjusting to having a newborn hasn\u2019t been a shock, Verstappen told The Athletic in an interview at Red Bull\u2019s hospitality building during the subsequent Austrian GP weekend. Compared to how his FIA news conference appearances can seem tense at times, he was relaxed as he discussed this new chapter. Having a young kid around isn\u2019t actually new for him, as he\u2019s been in the life of Penelope \u2014 Piquet and former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat\u2019s daughter \u2014 since she was one year old.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get to understand how to live with a little one,\u201d Verstappen said, \u201cand I think that has prepared me quite well for my own little girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

But racing is the only life he\u2019s known. Verstappen comes from a racing family: his mother, Sophie, competed in karting until her initial retirement in the 1990s, and his father, Jos, became an F1 driver. The elder Verstappen still races in rally. Max became used to seeing Jos leave for a race weekend and admits he was \u201cquite upset about it because I wanted to join, but it also makes you understand what you have to do.\u201d Sophie, meanwhile, took \u201ccare of things at home.\u201d And Piquet saw a similar dynamic in her own family with father Nelson being a three-time F1 world champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all very natural,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cIt helps a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are two big lessons he\u2019s taken from his childhood: finding free time in everyday life and having an understanding partner. Knowing Verstappen is an F1 driver is different from knowing what that entails and \u201cwhat you have to do for it to be competitive and successful.\u201d As for that free time outside of racing, it takes meticulous planning, between the 24 F1 race weekends a year, recent GT3 tests at Germany\u2019s N\u00fcrburgring Nordschleife and Belgium\u2019s Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and managing his own sim racing and sportscar team. The latter two have long been goals, particularly for his post-F1 life.<\/p>\n

Over the last year, speculation has swirled around whether Verstappen might retire early. He\u2019s contracted with Red Bull through 2028 (though there\u2019s plenty of discourse around whether he\u2019ll stay<\/a>), but it hasn\u2019t stopped the rumor mill. At least in interviews with The Athletic, it doesn\u2019t seem like the Dutchman has a set year or even age in mind on when he\u2019ll leave the pinnacle of motorsport and move on to a different venture. To him, it ultimately boils down to whether he can give 100 percent and still have fun doing so.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople sometimes hang around maybe to create more money, but at the end of the day, that doesn\u2019t come first. It\u2019s important you\u2019re here because of the hunger to win,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cSome people come here to just get the best out of their car because some don\u2019t have a winning car. But that\u2019s why I think: as long as I can do that, and I\u2019m working with the people that I enjoy working with, then, yeah, we\u2019ll drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know when that will stop. Is that 32? Is that 35? 36? I don\u2019t know. It\u2019s impossible to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verstappen will be 31 years old by the end of the 2028 season \u2014 14 years in F1, after starting at 17 years old. By comparison, Lewis Hamilton is currently 40 years old with 19 years in F1, while Fernando Alonso is 43 with 22 seasons.<\/p>\n

But the conversation on retirement is more than just age. \u201cI feel like I\u2019m already missing out so much on just being with my family,\u201d Verstappen said before listing out his parents and siblings, as well as his friends.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Piquet and Verstappen at the 2024 Brazil Grand Prix, the scene of a famous Verstappen win (Kym Illman\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI spend holidays with them, but I really miss the moments of just casually rocking up for a weekend or just hanging out on the couch, sitting together on a lazy day, or just after a normal work day,\u201d Verstappen explained. \u201cWe live quite far apart now, (so) these kinds of moments are not possible with my life. I hope one day that it can go back to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time he had a normal life moment like he had described, the 27-year-old said it was during his karting days. His life changed when he made the move to single-seater cars, straight into racing in Formula Three \u2014 at the age of 16 in 2014.<\/p>\n

Throughout his various career chapters, he\u2019s consistently enjoyed success and raised the bar compared to his rivals. He is the youngest driver to make an F1 debut, at 17, and the FIA then introduced a minimum age requirement for drivers. He won his first F1 race during his first grand prix weekend with Red Bull, after spending his first season and four more races at its junior team, and he holds the record for the most consecutive F1 wins (10). But this year is new, as Red Bull endures a downturn in performance.<\/p>\n

And considering that trailing McLaren is far from where it was in the dominant 2023 season, or even last year when Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive world championship, and how his personal and non-F1 racing life is evolving, it begs the question: even without winning consistently, is he still having fun?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m having enough fun, yes,\u201d Verstappen answered. \u201cSome bits are not fun, but the most important thing that I enjoy is driving the car. And that is fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being a Red Bull driver nowadays, though, may not look like fun from the outside.<\/p>\n

The Milton Keynes-based team went from making F1 history in 2023 with winning 21 of 22 grands prix and securing 15 consecutive victories that year to now racing with a not-so-competitive car (by the top teams\u2019 standards) and sitting fourth in the constructor standings. It faces a 288-point gap to McLaren that could steadily grow during the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

Verstappen has scored 165 of the team\u2019s 172 points, as of the British Grand Prix weekend, and his last win was in May: The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. His last podium finish came in Canada, with second place to Mercedes\u2019 George Russell, and the Briton had commented afterwards that \u201cI don\u2019t really know how Max and I are so close to those two (McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri ) because they clearly have the most dominant car.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a statement that Verstappen didn\u2019t entirely echo when speaking with The Athletic the following weekend in Austria. \u201cIt\u2019s close but also not,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat is it? Forty points or something? It\u2019s a lot. It\u2019s almost two races, so a lot needs to happen for us to be in that fight. I feel like we\u2019re just hanging in there, not really making big strides.\u201d<\/p>\n

The gap at that time was 21 points to Norris and 43 to championship leader Piastri. After the two additional races at the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone, where the McLaren duo secured consecutive 1-2 finishes, Verstappen now sits 69 points behind Piastri and 61 points from second-place Norris. With F1\u2019s car design regulations set to change in 2026, teams are starting to shift their focus to next year\u2019s challenger, which will make it harder to find car performance gains in 2025. Christian Horner said after the British GP that \u201c90 percent of the focus is now on\u201d that project for his now-former team.<\/p>\n

So what does Verstappen find fun about F1 right now?<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with all the incredibly talented and smart people within the team, pushing myself in the car to get the best out of it, and the competition, naturally, with all the other drivers. Just trying to win at the end of the day,\u201d Verstappen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd of course, if you really have no chance to win anymore and I have to drive in the midfield, then fun will disappear very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Success isn\u2019t a guarantee; one day, the wins do stop. Despite Verstappen wanting to continue winning, he has learned to accept that this is not the case currently and to work through it with his team. Otherwise, that relationship might be disrupted, which could impact a driver\u2019s performance and lead to overdriving in the car. That doesn\u2019t mean Verstappen hasn\u2019t had his moments where he\u2019s not been thrilled, but he knows shouting won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Verstappen is a distant third in the 2025 championship right now (Mark Thompson\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I\u2019m getting upset with things, and they hear me being upset with things, it also does something with them, because they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh, Max is angry, we cannot approach him,\u2019 or they start to also be a bit tense,\u201d Verstappen explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you have to try and be motivating, supporting, which is not always easy when you have been dominating as a team and then you\u2019re dropping back a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given Red Bull\u2019s performance downturn, it has prompted repeated questions of whether Verstappen will race for the team next season. But there\u2019s an added wrinkle to the 2026 drivers market: the change in regulations. The pecking order won\u2019t become apparent until the cars hit the track next winter and spring, with teams facing \u201ca massive change.\u201d It\u2019s not just the engines that are changing: the cars are becoming slightly more nimble, and fuel will consist of sustainable alternatives. As Verstappen said: \u201cIt\u2019s a big question mark for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, you just hope that you\u2019re with the right team, and \u2026\u00a0 I don\u2019t (want) to say \u2018luck in\u2019 \u2014 but in a way, you do \u2018luck in\u2019 because if you\u2019re a good driver and suddenly your team steps up, then you know that you have a winning chance,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how F1 works.\u201d<\/p>\n

The noise continues to grow around him and Red Bull. But since he was little, he\u2019s been able to tune it out \u2014 so much so that Verstappen said Jos \u201cinitially thought I was always a bit too relaxed about it in the past when I was a kid.\u201d The approach to handling criticism boils down to, as he put it, \u201cI don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I have done to get here,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019ve known what I have achieved already in this sport, and I focus on myself, the people close to me. The team and family. I do what I have to do on track, and then, besides that, just live my life outside of it with all my passions. And with my family (too). For me, I don\u2019t let it distract me (from) what I\u2019m doing here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verstappen described this chapter of his life as \u201csomething that when you\u2019re younger, you dream of.\u201d He has become a generational talent and is navigating one of the most successful F1 careers in history. But his aspirations extend beyond F1, to having a managerial-type role \u2014 and he\u2019s had an eye on endurance racing as another chapter of his driving career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just very happy that it\u2019s all possible. Financially, it\u2019s basically making it all happen. And at the same time, also giving young drivers a chance,\u201d Verstappen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dream is of having a sim driver move into the real world and making it a success story, and seeing him progress, and seeing him evolve into a better driver. And also, hopefully, in the long term, make him basically a professional driver. That he can make his living off it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the goal, and that\u2019s something that slowly we\u2019re making ways in.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recent months, Verstappen has seen his role as team owner merge with endurance racing, as in 2025 his team is entering an Aston Martin GT3 car in the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe championship, which includes the famous 24 Hours of Spa race.<\/p>\n

Verstappen himself participated in GT3 tests at the N\u00fcrburgring Nordschleife and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to help with its preparations. GT3 cars are built for the long haul; heavier machines that can withstand hours on the circuit. During the test at the N\u00fcrburgring, he set an unofficial lap record of the fearsome track for GT3 cars, but used a pseudonym (Franz Hermann) to give himself a calmer, more normal start to the day that he desired. He knew that if his name was on the entry list, people would show up early to watch, and he \u201cdidn\u2019t want to make it such a big fuss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Verstappen says that, if he could, he would choose to be \u201cunknown in the world, but that\u2019s not possible anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

The purpose of Verstappen being at that test wasn\u2019t to break a record but rather to help Emil Frey Racing\u2019s squad, with whom he collaborates, to learn the track. His manager\u2019s son, Thierry Vermeulen, races for the team.<\/p>\n

The N\u00fcrburgring Nordschleife is a flowing, long track with multiple types of corners, and Verstappen said: \u201cIt\u2019s just actually so crazy that this is allowed and that it\u2019s still existing.\u201d The N\u00fcrburgring Nordschleife was once part of the F1 calendar, but given the layout\u2019s complex nature and limited run-off areas, it was deemed too dangerous for the speeds and downforce of modern F1 cars.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just had a lot of fun in the forest, as well,\u201d Verstappen said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s not intimidating \u2014 but I can understand that it is very intimidating initially, and for me, good experience as a racing driver. It\u2019s just a lot of fun to push yourself on such an iconic track to the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

A month later, he tackled Spa in a car fielded by his team, Verstappen.com Racing. This test was \u201cmore for myself,\u201d Verstappen said during the Austrian GP FIA news conference, adding how he hasn\u2019t \u201creally driven the Aston that much up until that point. It was very early in the season, so I just wanted to get a bit more experience for myself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guys, of course, are racing it, preparing for the 24 Hours (of Spa). But it\u2019s more for me to get more of an understanding of what we can do with the car setup-wise and (for) development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driving an F1 car through the Ardennes forest versus a GT3 car is \u201cvery different,\u201d he later told The Athletic. He said \u201cnothing comes close\u201d to doing a qualifying lap in an F1 car around that track.<\/p>\n

But these outings have given him a taste of what his future could look like. Verstappen doesn\u2019t anticipate that he\u2019ll race \u201ca flat-out program\u201d once he leaves F1, but endurance racing and diving more into the managerial world will most likely be his next chapter. Coaching other drivers has helped him \u201clearn even more about the car and engineering,\u201d which involves speaking to the engineering team more frequently than a driver typically does alone.<\/p>\n

But what he\u2019s learned the most is patience.<\/p>\n

Verstappen is known for his direct communication style, something that the drivers he works with are aware of. He\u2019ll share what is going right and what needs work, and that\u2019s how one improves, because \u201cif you can\u2019t be honest to each other or critical, then it\u2019s not going to work, because I think it\u2019s important that you can handle criticism even in the toughest of times.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the same concept applies to Verstappen. Everyone can grow, regardless of how accomplished an athlete is. Even with four world championships and numerous F1 records to his name, Verstappen believes that there are still ways he can improve.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the fun of motorsport. The ever-changing cars create an unpredictable constant in drivers\u2019 lives and competitors evolve as well. Every season presents a fresh challenge, one that Verstappen still finds enjoyable as his family grows.<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that \u201cbeing fully comfortable\u201d isn\u2019t an option \u2014 there\u2019s always room for growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s why you never stop learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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