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Max Verstappen won’t retire from Formula 1 – because he’s eyeing breaking Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher’s world title record.
That’s the opinion of former driver Johnny Herbert, who doesn’t think Verstappen will bow out early despite the Dutchman claiming that he will not follow in Hamilton’s footsteps and race into his late 30s. Verstappen, 26, claimed his third world title after dominating the 2023 season, winning 19 out of 22 races.
It means Verstappen has won three successive titles and is now four behind Hamilton and Schumacher – who won seven each during their respective careers. And Herbert doesn’t think Verstappen will quit anytime soon as he is a winning machine.
“I don’t think he’s going to bow out early,” Herbert said. “That’s just him growing up and maturing and him appreciating there is life outside the F1 bubble. I think his whole demeanour and mentality is about winning. He may do Le Mans with his Dad. But his main focus is and will be F1 but he realises he can enjoy life in a different way and it’s not all about that one bubble. Maybe it’s family that could be starting to come into his head.”
Hamilton finished third for Mercedes this season, and although he is set to turn 39 in January, he doesn’t have any plans of retiring from the sport anytime soon. He has seven world titles to his name – the same as Schumacher – and Verstappen will want to break those two records, according to Herbert.
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“Senna always finished a season and went back to Brazil for a whole reset to get his motivation back ahead of testing,” Herbert added.
“Lewis is not dissimilar. There are two drivers who have won seven world titles and Max is very aware that he has the talent to potentially beat that. That is his motivation
When you’re on top of the podium and the champagne is flowing there’s no other feeling like it. The motivation is to win as many championships as he can. The goal is eight and that will be more than enough.
“The thing with all great champions such as Michael, Ayrton, Lewis and Max, it is about bettering yourself all the time. That comes from within and it’s the biggest motivation which sets them apart.
“They all look to confront perceived weaknesses, work on them and turn them in a way into a strength. Then move on to the next negative to sort out.”
