Max Verstappen will 'not take a sabbatical' and clarifies F1 future
Red Bull driver and four-time world champion tells Dutch media that he will not sit out for a year while Formula One goes through a transition
Max Verstappen has ruled out taking a sabbatical from Formula One, telling Dutch media that "I'm not that sort of person".
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The four-time world champion was asked by Dutch publication De Telegraaf if he would consider a year or two away from the paddock, after he criticised the current engine specifications.
He responded: “No, not a sabbatical. I’m not that sort of person. If I stop, I’ll stop completely. But that’s not on the cards at the moment.”
Earlier in the season, the 28-year-old suggested he was ready to retire because he did not enjoy the "whole formula" of the 2026 specifications.
He has so far finished sixth, eighth, and fifth, with one retirement, while his third place in the recent Canada Grand Prix was his first podium of 2026. He is currently seventh in the championship.
Verstappen is unhappy at the current 50-50 power split in 2026 F1 cars between the power unit, battery and the internal combustion engine.
"I can easily accept to be in P7 or P8 where I am," he said after the Japanese Grand Prix.
"Because I also know that you can't be dominating or be first or second or whatever, fighting for a podium every time. I'm very realistic in that and I've been there before. I've not only been winning in F1.
"But at the same time when you are in P7 or P8 and you are not enjoying the whole formula behind it, it doesn't feel natural to a racing driver.
"Of course I try to adapt to it, but it's not nice the way you have to race. It's really anti-driving. Then at one point, yeah, it's just not what I want to do."
The FIA has now announced a 60-40 engine/battery split for 2027 F1 cars, which will be more to Verstappen's liking.
"I just want a good product in Formula One. And that will for sure improve the product," he said of the news.
"Hopefully that will happen next year. That will already help a lot, because I've always said it doesn't matter if I had a good car or not. It's just the product.
"And I think the product will improve like that, so naturally I think the enjoyment will go up as well."
Verstappen raced in the 2026 Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie while F1 was on an enforced break between the Japanese and Miami grand prix, after rounds in the Middle East were cancelled due to the Iran war.
Since 2020, Verstappen has been in a relationship with model Kelly Piquet and the pair have a daughter together, while Piquet also has a daughter from a previous relationship.