Verstappen vows to set up his own team as F1 star opens up on retirement plans

Max Verstappen wants to set up his own racing team as the Dutchman maps out his future after retiring from Formula One. The reigning champion revealed he wants to create his own squad but accepts this would be outside F1.

The 25-year-old has pledged to take a new approach to find talent of the future with an emphasis on finding youngsters priced out of traditional motorsport. Verstappen admitted karting can be “expensive” with gaming a much more affordable way for people to start.

He told The Mail: “I could go now but while I’m enjoying it so much I won’t stop. But I am dreaming of having my own racing team outside F1 one day. I am really into sim racing. A lot of people don’t take it seriously, but I see a lot of potential in it.

“There are a lot of kids who start in go-karts but it becomes so expensive from then on. We will try to create another way in through sim racing, which costs a lot less, not necessarily to Formula One but to being an awesome GT driver or endurance driver.”

Alongside his F1 commitments, Verstappen is part of the Team Redline sim-racing community and takes part in a range of events. The double world champion mostly competes in endurance and GT races to give him some variance away from F1.

Verstappen has previously highlighted the difference between real life and gaming is not as big as it seems. He revealed sim racing can be 90 per cent accurate to driving a real car making it a real possibility more gamers could make the leap.

Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Ordonez are two examples of GT racers who have transitioned from the virtual world to a real racetrack.

Verstappen told the Washington Post: “You really do miss the G-force. And in real racing, a lot relies on what you feel through the wheel. I must say, though, that simulators are getting quite accurate — I would say it’s now 90 percent accurate to a real racecar.”

Lewis Hamilton has already taken the leap into team ownership through his X44 Extreme E squad. The seven-time champion’s team won the championship with rally legend Sebastian Loeb in 2022.

Nico Rosberg has also joined the same series with his RXR squad topping the leaderboard in 2021.