Max Verstappen says he wants to emulate the career of Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi
Max Verstappen has been vocal about his retirement plan this season.
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Max Verstappen and Valentino Rossi (Via IMAGO)
The 2023 season will be marked in F1 history books for the unstoppable dominance of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. He has won 14 out of the 17 races held this season so far and is on his way to win more. Verstappen secured his third consecutive Drivers Championship during the Qatar GP. After already securing a sport among the elites of F1, the Dutchman has started thinking about his retirement.
Verstappen has been racing in the sport of Formula One for almost eight years now, starting at the age of 17. As someone who shares interests in multiple racing series, he already has plans for his post-F1 retirement. He is actively involved in eSports racing and even has an official team. Versatppen wants to emulate another Motorsporst legend after his career at the premier open-wheel racing ends.
Max Verstappen admitted that emulating MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi’s post-retirement career would be something he isn interested in. Rossi is racing in the GT Series, something the Red Bull driver always had to do. He said, as reported by Gazzetta Dello Sport, “It would be nice to do like Valentino Rossi…I like to see his races in GT, a category I have an interest in because we have our own cars entered.”
Speaking on Rossi’s MotoGP career, Verstappen commented that Rossi did ‘everything’ he could in the premier motorbike racing series. He said, “He did everything he could in MotoGP, with a crazy career, and now he’s having fun while still working hard and wanting to win again.” Verstappen would look for something similar in the future.
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What plans does Max Verstappen have after his contract ends with Red Bull?
Max Verstappen is committed to Red Bull until the end of 2028. Verstappen would’ve been in the sport for 13 years at that point. The champion added that he would be 31 by the end of his contract, and he would’ve been in the sport for a long time by then. Also, he would ultimately be tired because of the traveling.
The champion added that being in Formula One is a lot of work and traveling, not only for races but also to the factory and back. And also, the marketing commitments are tiring for the racer. He also added that he is a person who ‘likes to be at home.’
Eventually, Verstappen said that he likes to be competitive and also likes to win. But if he doesn’t feel fully motivated to get to every race, that will be the time when he will take a step back and question himself about whether he really wants to continue racing.
In case you missed it:
- Max Verstappen expresses absurd Ferrari wishes, makes an appeal to John Elkann to call him
- Would Christian Horner and Helmut Marko’s tussle make Red Bull go off the rails?
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Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)