Max Verstappen’s dissatisfaction with the regulations introduced in Formula 1 for the new season is apparently so great that even a farewell to the premier motorsport class at the end of the year is within the realm of possibility. The Red Bull driver himself indicated this on Sunday on the sidelines of the Japanese GP. But team boss Laurent Mekies isn’t worried about that.
“We are not having any discussions about anything like that,” Horner’s successor commented on the speculation about Verstappen’s resignation from Formula 1 in a media round on Sunday: “If we give him a car with which he can make a difference and make a difference, he will also be a happier Max. Making the car faster is 100 percent our current topic of conversation.”
Max Verstappen said he was “not enjoying the whole thing anymore” after the Japanese Grand Prix on “BBC Radio 5 Live”. When asked whether the four-time world champion might turn his back on Formula 1 at the end of the year, the 28-year-old answered openly: “That’s exactly what I mean. I think about everything here in the paddock.”
Formula 1: Red Bull “a distant fourth”
Away from the racetrack, he is “very happy,” he emphasized, citing his happy private life as one of the main reasons why he is considering leaving the premier motorsport class: “Is it worth it? Or do I enjoy being at home with my family more, seeing my friends more often, when you don’t enjoy the sport?”
Mekies also admitted that the situation for the four-time F1 champion is not that easy at the moment: “As far as the gap to the competition is concerned, it didn’t look much different in Japan than in Melbourne: one second to the best, half a second to the best Ferrari. But now McLaren is at the same level. So we’re a distant fourth. That’s the reality.
But they are optimistic about “giving Max something with which he can really attack,” he announced: “I’m not saying that this is just due to the set-up. I’m just saying that there are certain aspects with which we are struggling with this car and that contribute to our fundamental performance deficit. But solving such complex problems is part of our core business.”
