Max Verstappen has revealed he contemplated his future at Red Bull in Formula 1 at times throughout the 2024 season which delivered him a fourth consecutive title.
Verstappen was crowned the champion once more in Las Vegas as he came home ahead of rival Lando Norris to make his lead over the McLaren driver unassailable.
But the Dutchman’s latest title success proved to be less smooth sailing than his last as political unrest at Red Bull preceded an abrupt regression in competitiveness.
An investigation into Red Bull boss Christian Horner’s behaviour overshadowed Verstappen’s dominant opening to the season as he logged four victories in five races.
The spat that ensued between Verstappen’s father, Jos, and Horner coincided with Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff disclosing his desire to acquire the Red Bull man.
Speculation associating Verstappen with a potential move to the German marque ramped up as Red Bull’s downturn saw him go on a 10-race winless run mid-season.
Verstappen has conceded that there were moments during the campaign where he considered whether he wanted to remain with Red Bull or even leave F1 altogether.
“Well, you know, to be honest, I think in your life, every year there are always thoughts going through your head,” Verstappen told media including Motorsport Week.
“How long do I still want to do this? Where do I want to do this? How do I want to do this?
“There are things in your private life, you know, that happen, of course, in your racing life. So there are always things that you have to deal with and think about.
“But that’s fine. I mean, I think in general, quite relaxed about these things because it’s very important to split your private life and racing life.
“But it’s fine to have these thoughts in your head about what you want to do.”
Verstappen ‘very loyal’ to Red Bull
Verstappen, though, has expressed that his long-serving allegiance to Red Bull encouraged him to invest in helping the team to overcome the struggles it experienced.
“But at the same time, I’m also not someone that makes very drastic decisions at the same time,” he continued. “And I’m just very happy where I’m at at the moment.
“I’m very loyal to the team. And I also appreciate, of course, what they have done for me from picking me up out of F3 and giving me an F1 seat and then going through all these emotions over all the years with these key people in the team. So when there are tough times, it’s very easy to say goodbye or forget about it or ignore it.
“But I think it’s actually way more important to actually face them and go through it together and deal with it and just try to just move on from there and then focus back, of course, on the performance side of things and have fun out there. That’s at the end of the day, if you’re not having fun, then there’s no point to continue.”
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