Verstappen asked if he ‘dreams’ of driving for Ferrari like Hamilton does

Max Verstappen says he may retire from Formula 1 when his Red Bull contract expires in 2028 but admits he could be persuaded to continue racing if a seat in a faster car becomes available. The Dutchman was pressed on whether he dreams of racing for Ferrari in light of reports linking Lewis Hamilton to a blockbuster move from Mercedes to the 16-time constructor champions.

In response, he told Sky Sports: “People always ask me if I have a dream team. I know Ferrari has an amazing history in Formula 1 and is an amazing team to race for, but I always said to myself I just want to be in the fastest car.

“I had to wait a few years to be in the fastest car and now we do have the fastest car and that is a great feeling. At this stage, if it happens, it happens but I’m very happy where I am and for me personally, the desire of having to drive for one particular team at all costs, no.

“[It] depends how things are going here but at the moment I’m super happy, no discussion, but some people might be in different scenarios and there is a possibility, I don’t know.”

Verstappen is now in his ninth season in F1 having become the sport’s youngest driver at aged 17 back in 2015. By the time his Red Bull contract runs out in five years’ time, he could have tied the record for the most F1 titles, jointly held by Hamilton and Michael Schumacher with 7.

But going one step further and breaking the record may not be enough of an incentive to keep the 25-year-old on the track as he affirms he ‘loves to be at home’ and grows tired of all the travelling involved with racing.

“I love racing otherwise I wouldn’t be on the simulator at home doing other kinds, but that’s the thing, I also like doing other kinds of racing, not only Formula 1.

“I know that I will be 31 when it’s the end of my contract. At that point already I will have been in F1 a very long time and it’s a lot of work. It’s travelling a lot, not only the races but in between you’re travelling to the factory, you have marketing commitments and I’m really a person who loves to be at home.

“I like to be competitive, and I like to win but if you can’t fully motivate yourself to get to every race, then that’s the point you have to question yourself, ‘do you really want to continue?'”