The two-time F1 World Champion has made it clear in recent weeks that, in the years to come, he would like to race outside of Formula One, preferably before his current contract with Red Bull Racing ends.
Verstappen has always made it clear that he doesn’t want to race in Formula 1 “until he’s 40,” and he has even suggested that he might decide.
to leave the sport when his current contract ends at the end of the 2028 season.
When the Dutch driver appeared on television over the holiday season, he discussed some of the topics in which he is interested and made it abundantly clear that he wants to give racing in various kinds of machinery—not just single-seaters—a shot.
Along with Helmut Marko, Christian Horner, and former Red Bull F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel, erstappen appeared on Sport and Talk from Hangar-7 on ServusTV, a Red Bull-owned Austrian television station.
Verstappen revealed that some of the legendary sportscar races have piqued his interest while discussing potential future pursuits.
According to Red Bull’s Speedweek.com, he stated, “I would be interested in Le Mans, at some point,” as well as “even Daytona.”
Obviously, considering the extended F1 schedule he’s simply wrapped up as of late, Verstappen isn’t contemplating filling his timetable further presently: ” After being on the road for so long, I just want to be home for a few days; I’m really looking forward to that.
Verstappen is well-known for his love of online endurance sim racing, where he competes with his e-racing team, Team Redline, in events like the Virtual Le Mans 24 Hours and the Virtual Daytona 24 Hours. In January 2022, Verstappen was driving and vying for victory at Le Mans when he lost control in the final sector and crashed before power supply issues (i.e. electricity), Team Redline was unable to properly compete at Daytona.
Verstappen expressed his satisfaction at winning the F1 championship in Japan at Honda’s home track as he reflected on his own 2022 season.
With “HRC” decals on the RB18 at the conclusion of the season, the power units continue to be manufactured and shipped from Sakura despite Honda no longer officially providing Red Bull with engines as of the end of 2021.
Verstappen reflected, “It was really a great season.”
I was especially pleased that we were able to win the drivers’ championship at Suzuka rather than the Honda track. We hadn’t been to Japan in quite some time. Everything fit perfectly.”
Since Formula 1 will have completely new rules in 2022, most teams chose to keep their driver lineups the same, and only a few drivers’ contracts ended at the end of last season.
This time, however, there are seven drivers whose contracts are set to expire in 2023. The majority of the grid, on the other hand, are either locked in beyond the year’s end or have not been officially confirmed by their teams. Two examples of this are Alex Albon’s “2023 and beyond” contract with Williams and George Russell’s “long-term contract” with Mercedes.