"I don’t need to risk my life there" - Max Verstappen has no intention of taking part in Indy 500 and winning the triple crown

Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen recently revealed that he has no intention of ever racing in the Indy 500 Series and chasing the Triple Crown of Motorsport. He has already achieved a part of it by winning the Monaco Grand Prix back in 2021.

As reported by ESPN, when asked whether he would like to win the other two events, the Indy 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans, he said:

“I’ve no desire to chase the Triple Crown. At least, not Indy [500]. I appreciate what they do. It’s insane, these drivers. I have a lot of respect for what they achieve there, but for me, especially being in F1 for such a long time already, I don’t need to risk my life there and potentially injure myself, your legs, whatever. It’s just not worth it anymore, let’s say like that.”

He further said:

“Maybe Le Mans. I do like endurance races, so I will probably do some, hopefully soon, but for me, it doesn’t really matter. I, of course, try to be good in F1, I try to be good in whatever I do, but that desire of the Triple Crown or whatever - not interested.”

Sergio Perez, who just welcomed his third baby two weeks ago, had a similar response when asked the same question, and said:

“I have no interest to be honest. In endurance, I don’t know if I’ll do that one day. I don’t think so. I think once I am done with F1, I need to look to go back and look after my kids. I already have three... so yeah, I’ll be quite busy!”

Perez became the first Mexican to ever win a Monaco Grand Prix this weekend.

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Max Verstappen claims "it doesn't really matter if you're fast" in Monaco

In a post-race press conference, the 24-year-old Red Bull driver claimed that while speed is significant in qualifying on this particular track, it is not the most important factor in the actual race. When asked to compare his speed to that of the Ferraris in Monaco, Max Verstappen said:

“Well, if you just look at single lap pace, I think they were they were faster than us. Long run around here is very difficult to say because nobody really pushes, of course, even in practice in the long runs, because it doesn’t really matter. It’s all about qualifying. And it doesn’t really matter if you’re fast in the race, because you can’t pass anyway. So difficult to tell.”

Despite a Ferrari front-row lockout, Red Bull managed to optimize its result this weekend in Monaco with a win for Perez and a third-place finish for Max Verstappen.

The top three drivers in the championship standings, Verstappen, Leclerc and Perez, are are only separated by 15 points in total after the Monaco GP. It will be interesting to see which of the three can come out on top after the Azerbaijan GP on June 12, 2022.