Max Verstappen has revealed he has considered a move away from Red Bull to another team in Formula One. The two-time champion is cruising towards a third successive World Championship but says he has not always been fully focused on succeeding at the UK-based team.
Verstappen began his F1 career as a youngster at Toro Rosso before joining Red Bull in May 2016. He became the youngest driver of all time to win a race as he came out on top on his debut at the Spanish Grand Prix.
He didn’t always have it plain sailing in the couple of years that followed but he and Red Bull were prepared to play the waiting game in the hope that things would come good. Verstappen finished third in the driver standings in both 2019 and 2020, behind Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
In 2021 he achieved his dream of becoming World Champion, pipping Hamilton in hugely controversial fashion in the final race of the season in Saudi Arabia. Verstappen backed that up again last year and is easing his way to a third title this season.
But the Dutchman has admitted he has previously thought of what it would be like to drive for another team. However, he has quickly realised that Red Bull is currently the best place for his development.
Verstappen told RacingNews365: “Of course I have sometimes wondered whether it will all work. I have sometimes had the thought ‘maybe I should leave’, but at the same time I was also developing myself a lot as a driver.”
Verstappen finished ahead of second-placed Lando Norris at last weekend’s British Grand Prix. Verstappen is a big fan of the Brit, claiming he would have won if he had a better car.
He said: “Unfortunately that’s how Formula 1 works. If Lando had been in a race-winning car he would have won, it’s that simple.”
McLaren driver Norris has been linked with a move to Red Bull in the near future. But Verstappen has urged him to wait it out for the good times to return at McLaren, just as he did at Red Bull.
He said: “Sometimes you have to stick to the process and believe in it. And people keep saying ‘yes, I believe in it’, but you really have to believe in it and know that then you attract the right people to put together a winning team and to bring everything together.
“People often say that the grass is greener on the other side, but this is often not true. And I think that’s important to remember in situations like this.”
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