Verstappen Admits He Reconsidered His Future At Red Bull

Max Verstappen has claimed he came close to quitting Red Bull during his tumultuous title-winning season in Formula 1 this year.

Verstappen clinched his fourth world title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix as he finished ahead of Lando Norris to end the McLaren man’s weak championship chances for good.

But Verstappen’s success has come against a political backdrop that forced him to question his role with the Milton Keynes outfit.

The 27-year-old got caught up in an internal inquiry of team head Christian Horner at the turn of the year, with his father Jos Verstappen entangled in the heated conflict, a scenario which the younger Verstappen branded as “messy”.

Consequently, the Dutchman was actively courted by Mercedes chief Toto Wolff, who made no secret of the fact that he wanted the Red Bull driver to replace Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton.

Questions were raised as to whether Verstappen would quit the squad and force through a move to the Silver Arrows.

And while Verstappen said he did consider about his choices, he has now vowed his future to Red Bull, claiming he is “loyal to the team”.

When questioned by Motorsport.com whether there was ever moment he pondered leaving Red Bull for Mercedes, or maybe quitting entirely, he said: “I think in your life, every year there are always thoughts going through your head, from 'How long do I still want to do this? Where do I want to do this? How do I want to do this?'

“There are things in your private life that happen, of course. In your racing life, there are always things that you have to deal with and consider about.

“But that's fine. I'm in general very easygoing about these things because it's really essential to segregate your private life and racing life.

"But it's great to have these notions in your brain about what you want to accomplish.

“But at the same time, I'm also not someone that makes very drastic decisions. And I'm simply extremely content where I'm at, at the moment.

“I'm very loyal to the team. I appreciate, of course, what they have done for me from scooping me up out of F3 and giving me an F1 seat and then going through all these emotions over all the years with these key individuals in the team.

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“So, when there are tough times, it's very easy to say goodbye or forget about it or ignore it. But I think it's really lot more essential to actually face them and go through it together and deal with it and just try to just go on from there and focus back, of course, on the performance side of things and have fun out there.

“That's at the end the most important. If you're not having fun, then there's no sense to continue.”

Horner had described Verstappen’s fourth title triumph as the finest of his career, and when the Dutchman was asked if he agreed with his boss, he added: “I think so, too.

“Last year, I had a dominant car, but I always felt that not everyone appreciated what we achieved as a team, winning 10 in a row.

“Of course, our car was dominant, but it wasn't as dominant as people thought it was. I will always look back at 2023, because even in situations where maybe we didn't have the greatest set-up, we were still competent – since in the race our car was always very powerful – to win races.

"But I'm also quite happy of this season because for most of the season, I would say for 70% of the season, we didn't have the fastest car, but really we still expanded our advantage. So that is absolutely something that I'm really pleased of.”