Max Verstappen could quit F1 at the end of his current contract.

Max Verstappen’s contract runs until 2028 (Image: Getty)

Max Verstappen has ruled out a management role in F1 after his racing career ends, expressing his desire to build his own team and give young drivers opportunities in other walks of motorsport.

The Dutchman has a contract with Red Bull that runs until the end of the 2028 season, and while Verstappen will still be in his prime at the end of his current deal, the four-time world champion has routinely explained that he could walk away from F1 at the end of that campaign.

Verstappen has a strong passion for sports cars and endurance racing, and is even slated to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours race this season. The Red Bull ace wants to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other iconic events while still in his prime, rather than holding out for as long as possible in F1.

In an interview with TAG Heuer’s On the Racetrack show, Verstappen was asked about his passions outside of motorsport, to which he responded in jest: “Racing! But not racing — not even necessarily myself. For example, one of my goals is to bring a simulated driver into the real world.

“That happened this year already, and he’s doing very well. I just want to try to grow that project naturally, because that is definitely something that I enjoy a lot. And, yeah, outside of Formula One in the future as well, because while I like being in F1 as a driver, I don’t think I would ever come back to F1 in a management role, let’s put it like that.

Max Verstappen has ambitions to race in GT3 series (Image: Getty)

“But in a different kind of category, more like endurance racing, yes, I do see that happening. And creating opportunities for young drivers who do not have the funds or, you know, the means to get into a real racing car, to try to make that step from the simulator world as well.”

In the meantime, Verstappen hopes to contend for more World Championship titles, and steer Red Bull back to the top of the F1 pile. The Milton Keynes squad ended 2025 third in the Constructors’ Championship standings after a heroic late-season charge that produced 10 consecutive podium finishes.

In 2026, though, Red Bull face a number of challenges. The team are debuting their first-ever in-house power unit, alongside building an all-new car for the fresh technical regulations. Laurent Mekies’ squad are also bleeding in a new team-mate for Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar replacing Yuki Tsunoda in F1’s biggest hot-seat.