Max Verstappen says he would quit F1 if he stopped believing he was the best

Max VerstappenMax VerstappenRed Bull · Netherlands · Driver2nd POS279 PTS says he would leave Formula 1Formula 1 World ChampionshipInternational if he ever stopped believing he was the best driver in the field. The four-time world champion set out that condition in media duties before the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, tying his future in the sport to a conviction rather than to results.

2026

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POS

2nd

PTS

279

WINS

3

PODIUMS

12

Season 2026

The condition Verstappen named

As described, his position is simple. While he regards himself as the strongest driver on the grid he wants to keep racing; if that belief went, he would walk away. No deadline or decision point has been attached to it.

It is a striking way for a driver to frame his own career. The standard sits inside him rather than in the championship table, which means a season without a title does not, on its own, settle the question of whether he stays.

Two seasons without the title

Liauzh · CC BY-SA 4.0

Verstappen has not won the championship since 2024. Lando NorrisLando NorrisMcLaren · United Kingdom · Driver6th POS246 PTS took the title the following year, and Kimi Antonelli secured the 2026 crown in Mexico earlier this month, so Verstappen arrives in Sao Paulo with the championship already decided elsewhere for a second consecutive season.

That run is the backdrop to the remarks. For most of his career Verstappen has been the driver others measured themselves against; he is now speaking at a point when the title has gone to two different rivals in two years. His comments can be read as a statement about how he sustains motivation from that position — an interpretation of his words rather than something he said outright.

Why the comments matter

Fotóshírek szerkesztőség · CC0

Drivers seldom put a public expiry condition on their own careers. Verstappen's remarks give his team, his rivals and the sport a clear signal about what he is racing for, and they set an expectation for how he might respond to a longer stretch without a title. They also move the debate about his future away from the standings and on to something he alone can judge.

What is not yet known

Nothing in the remarks, as reported, suggests Verstappen is preparing to retire now. He has not said when he would make such a judgement, what would shift his view, or whether he still holds the belief he described. His team and Formula 1 have not commented, and no announcement about his future has been made.

What happens next

Verstappen races at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix with the 2026 championship already settled. The next signal will be whether he returns to the subject in Brazil or leaves it as a single answer to a single question. Until he does, the condition stands as something he has described rather than a plan he has set in motion.