$10M worth Nico Hulkenberg has given his take on whether Max Verstappen could retire from F1 at a very young age and feels that such a decision is very dynamic and could change from driver to driver. The Dutch driver has always been very vocal about not wanting to continue racing for a long time.
Verstappen made his debut in F1 as a teenager in 2015 and since then, he's been a crucial part of the grid. He won his first title in 2021 and has since been undefeated and an undisputed benchmark of the sport. The driver has made it clear that his ambitions in the sport are not necessarily around breaking the records set by Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton in terms of titles and wins.
Verstappen explained earlier that he is a part of the sport because he loves racing but he wouldn't be doing the same for a very long time. His current contract ends at the end of 2028 and the driver has multiple times hinted that he's not looking beyond that. There's however a bit of a similarity between what the Dutch driver has said and what many established drivers have claimed in the past.
Hamilton had also said that he would not continue to race for too long but he'd be racing this season as a 40-year-old. Fernando Alonso acknowledged that he thought the McLaren contract that he'd signed in 2006 was going to be his last but in 2025 he's still going strong. The question was put to Nico Hulkenberg on whether he thinks Max Verstappen would retire at a young age to which the German told Racingnews365:
“It can move, it can change. It's obviously [about] feelings and emotions. It's a lot of things, a lot of factors playing into that. Max Verstappen is in a very different situation and a different career to me. He's a four-time world champion fresh from the bakery.”
Hulkenberg touched on the fact that Verstappen could easily change his mind on whether he wants to stay away from the sport once he steps back.
Nico Hulkenberg says Max Verstappen could change his mind after moving away from F1
There have been multiple drivers who have returned to F1 after stepping away Nico Hulkenberg said it won't come as a surprise if Max Verstappen does that as well. He told Racingnews365:
“You never know. We’ve had so many champions that retire and then they feel after two years, ‘Actually, I'm missing something.' Leaving F1 leaves a big hole in a way, because you experience things here you don't get in the outside life, in a normal life. Saying these things is one thing, and then what actually happens can be a different thing.”
There are already question marks over whether Verstappen will continue to compete until 2028 with him voicing concern over how a few of the developments in the sport have not been to his liking. The future remains uncertain for the driver and it remains to be seen how he manages what would be the next phase of his career.