Max Verstappen has revealed he is ready to stay at Red Bull for the rest of his life – and insisted he does not need to win a world championship with another team to cement his Formula One legacy.
In an interview with the PA news agency just days after he secured his fourth consecutive world title, Verstappen also said he believes he will continue to be on the wrong side of a “biased” media if he goes up against a British driver – and insisted his relationship with Christian Horner remains “strong” despite his father’s claim earlier this year that Red Bull would “explode” if the team principal remained in his post.
Verstappen arrives in Doha for the opening leg of his title parade after he emulated Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost and Sebastian Vettel by claiming a quadruple of titles in Las Vegas on Saturday night. All of the above – excluding Verstappen’s Red Bull predecessor Vettel – raced to championship glory with more than one team.
But speaking ahead of this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen said: “It is not like I need to try to win the world championship somewhere else.
“That is not a desire from my side. I am just happy where I am at. And it would also be very beautiful if you just could stay with one team and race there forever. I would like to believe (that could be with Red Bull). That is the target.
“Am I bothered about a legacy? No. I don’t value my success because of what other people say. If I am happy, that is all that matters.
“In sport, you also need a bit of luck to be in the right team for a long time. It doesn’t mean that the guy with the most titles is actually the best.”
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— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) November 28, 2024
Verstappen won four of the first five races this year, but Red Bull’s domination evaporated during a season where Horner was accused of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague.
Horner always denied the claim, and he was exonerated by the racing team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, on two occasions. However, Verstappen’s father Jos, who raced alongside Schumacher at Benetton in the 1990s, lobbied for Horner to quit.
“You would rather not have to deal with all these kind of things,” admitted Verstappen. “I always tried to focus on the performance, work with the engineers, and try not to make it all blow up. I have a really good relationship (with Horner). It is a strong relationship.”
But amid the strain, Wolff sensed an opportunity to replace the Ferrari-bound Hamilton with Verstappen. How close did Verstappen get to trading Red Bull for the Silver Arrows?
“It is always important that you keep your options open,” he said. “But it was very clear that it was not on the cards. I was winning here. And when you are having trouble, to immediately run away, doesn’t sit well with me. It is not fair on anyone. I am loyal to this team for what they have done for me. And that goes both ways.”
His performance came with his ruthless tactics in the spotlight after he forced rival Lando Norris off the road twice at the previous round in Mexico. He was likened to Wacky Races villain Dick Dastardly by Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, while respected broadcaster and former British racer Martin Brundle claimed the Dutch driver’s legacy is being “tainted”.
Verstappen continued: “Sometimes in racing situations, or battles, or certain penalties, and the way people look at success and how much credit they give you or not, I definitely feel that there is a bias.
“The problem in F1 is that 80 to 85 per cent of the media is British. And I did feel that some things which were written about me were not fair.
“I am not going to sit here and single out one broadcaster, but I just had to laugh about what was said. I was like ‘whatever’.
“At the end of the day yes, (I have four titles) and they are the ones in front of a microphone. I speak out. I don’t care. If I don’t agree with something I will tell you.
Asked if he expects the perceived bias to change, Verstappen replied: “It depends a lot if you are fighting against a British driver. If I was fighting Charles (Leclerc) for example, it would be way less of a problem.”
Ferrari’s Leclerc will be joined by Hamilton next season, with the mouth-watering prospect of the 39-year-old reigniting his rivalry with Verstappen and fighting for a record eighth title.
Heading into the final two rounds of his Mercedes career, Hamilton is 195 points behind Verstappen in the standings.
“It has been tough for him (Hamilton) to get motivated fully this year because he knows he is leaving the team,” said Verstappen. “I felt like as soon as he had that competitive car, and there was a chance of winning, you could see that he really stepped up. Then there were some races where the car was difficult and he was like ‘whatever’.
“I don’t think he will ever lose it. He has achieved so much. It is a new challenge for him next year. He will be very, very motivated to show he is a seven-time world champion. But it will depend on the material he has got.”
