F1 pundit makes left-field claim about Max Verstappen's future - "He will take 2026 off"

F1 pundit Karun Chandhok recently made a bold prediction on Max Verstappen's future ahead of the 2026 F1 regulation changes. Chandhok feels that Verstappen could drop from F1 for a year in 2026 to pursue other goals in motorsports and rejoin the grid in 2027.

Ever since Red Bull team boss Christian Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by a female employee, the team has been involved in numerous rumors. These have increased since Adrian Newey's departure, with many suggesting that Verstappen could leave the team as well.

Both Newey and Verstappen have been linked with moves to rivals Mercedes.

Meanwhile, F1's driver market could be heavily affected due to the 2026 technical regulation changes, when teams would be able to bring in new power units. Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Chandhok made an interesting speculation that Max Verstappen could leave Red Bull after 2025.

He explained that the Dutch driver could indulge in other motorsport activities in 2026, while F1 teams figure out the new regulations. Chandhok went on to state that the three-time world champion could return to F1 in 2027 and join the team that cracked the new regulations.

"Increasingly, I think Max will stay at Red Bull for 2025. I think he will take 2026 off and have a year out, see what happens, and then in 2027 he can go anywhere. He has talked about his ambitions of doing Le Mans and other forms of racing. So, I think he will do something in 2026, have a year off in F1, see who hits the ground running with the new regs," Chandhok said (24:28).

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"Sporting success does not determine my entire life" - Max Verstappen on his achievements in F1

Max Verstappen recently talked about staying level-headed despite his success in F1. The Dutch driver has won the world championship since 2021 while dominating almost every race.

Speaking to Formule1, he stated that he is not afraid of failure and can detatch himself from F1 easily. He added that he keeps telling himself how the success he achieved in the sport was great, but it was not everything in his life.

"It's not that I'm afraid of failure and I can put things aside quite quickly. As long as you keep telling yourself: 'Formula 1 is nice and it's nice when you're successful, but it's not everything'," Verstappen said (via Sportskeeda).

"That's important that you realize that. Sporting success does not determine my entire life, so I am quite relaxed about it. Since the first world title anyway. I've said it before: everything that comes after is a bonus. That approach works well.”

Max Verstappen currently leads the 2024 F1 drivers' championship with 136 points.