Lewis Hamilton is the reason behind Max Verstappen contemplating early F1 retirement, claims Nico Rosberg

The 2021 title fight between Hamilton and Verstappen was the most intense witnessed in a decade, going down to the wire

Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen (Credits: Sky Sports, The Guardian and The Independent)

Max Verstappen has established himself as the latest dominant force in Formula One, securing two consecutive world titles. He already has one hand on the third and is moving toward securing it excellently. However, this season has sparked retirement rumors after the Dutchman openly stated his intent to leave the sport should regulations keep changing, or he doesn’t even desire a prolonged career in F1.

Former world champion Nico Rosberg has theorized why Verstappen is already contemplating retirement, despite his rich, ongoing success. He believes the intense battle for the 2021 championship between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton led to a lack of enjoyment for Verstappen during his initial years as a title contender. He ascertains that despite his subsequent dominance with Red Bull, Verstappen has struggled to regain that sense of enjoyment in the sport.

He said, speaking to Sky Sports, “That talk from him [possibly retiring] started in the year when he battled Hamilton. Where he said ‘I won’t go on for very long if every year is like that’. Those battles are so fierce and intense, it takes a lot of the fun away as well. The sport will always be an intense environment, especially when you are fighting for championships every year”

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He added, “You are the guy who has it all to lose. Every expectation is you are going to win over and over, it’s quite demanding. I can’t put myself in his shoes. Money-wise he’s done, he has so much he won’t have to work again or worry again. Record-wise he’s already one of the best of all time by the end of this year.” Verstappen’s battle with Lewis Hamilton was nerve-wracking and will go down as one of the greatest duels of all time.

Max Verstappen has expressed a desire to win other series after conquering F1

Max Verstappen (Credits: Republic World)

Despite being at the very prime of his already illustrious career, Max Verstappen is already mulling an early retirement. In a recent interview, the Dutchman cited the reasoning behind his statements. He said, “The time you spend beyond the time you spend in the car. You travel a lot, you have a lot of commitments throughout the year and you know where you have to be at all times, when as a driver what I like is to race.”

He added, “It’s what I did when I was little, what I’m passionate about, but you know that in F1 everything around it is part of the sport. It is the least positive [aspect]. Ideally, I would just drive. But it is not possible.” Speaking on what his prospects could entail after he calls it quits on F1, he said, “I want to do other things. Endurance. IndyCar, not so much. But I would like to try to win other things.”

?️ | Max Verstappen has finally put his retirement rumours to bed

He was told that fans were worried that he would leave F1 due to the new changes ?

But he has given a guarantee that he will definitely drive in F1 for the next 5 years till 2028 ?https://t.co/Xw86JEvsdK
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) May 2, 2023

The Dutchman currently already has 40 career wins, 80 podiums, and 24 pole positions, not to mention his two consecutive world championships, with a beckoning third. He is already set to go down in F1 history as one of its greatest drivers, aged 25. It will be exciting to see what other remarkable feats Verstappen can achieve in the remainder of his time with Red Bull when he decides to call it a day on his time at the pinnacle of motorsport.