'Is it worth it?': Max Verstappen floats Formula 1 retirement after bleak start to 2026 season

Max Verstappen has offered a raw, candid look into his thoughts during the opening stages of the 2026 Formula 1 season, openly questioning whether the "worth" of staying in the sport outweighs his waning enjoyment of the new technical era.

Now in his 12th season, the Red Bull stalwart has struggled to find his footing in the new season and following another dismal showing in Suzuka, Verstappen laid his cards on the table regarding an exit from the sport.

In a post-race interview with BBC Radio, the Red Bull driver suggested he was giving thought to his F1 future and when asked if he was genuinely considering walking away at the end of the season, his response was blunt.

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"That's what I'm saying. I'm thinking about everything inside this paddock."

"Privately I'm very happy. You also wait for 24 races. This time it's 22. But normally 24. And then you just think about is it worth it?

"Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you're not enjoying your sport?"

Verstappen found himself in a midfield scrap with Alpine's Pierre Gasly during the Japanese Grand Prix and could only finish in eighth, the two squabbling through multiple overtakes.

"You can pass around here, but then you have no battery for the next straight," he said of his frustrations on the 'yo-yo' nature of racing.

"So I tried once just to have a look, but then of course Pierre immediately got by me again on the main straight and I think that was basically the story of today. You can pass, but then you get re-passed. That was basically it.

"I can easily accept to be in P7 or P8 where I am," he further admitted.

"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.

"And of course you can look at it and make a lot of money. Great. But at the end of the day it's not about money any more because this has always been my passion.

"As a kid this is what I wanted to do and back then I had no idea what I was going to achieve and how much money you make.

"You never think about that as a kid. And it's also not about that.

"I want to be here to have fun and have a great time and enjoy myself. At the moment that's not really the case.

"Of course I do enjoy certain aspects. I enjoy working with my team. It's like a second family. But once I sit in the car it's not the most enjoyable unfortunately.

"I'm trying. I keep telling myself every day to try and enjoy it. It's just very hard."

This was not an out-of-the-blue admission.

On Saturday after qualifying in 11th in a shock Q2 exit, Verstappen told reporters he was "not even frustrated any more, I'm beyond that", but that he had "a lot of stuff also for me personally to figure out."

Asked what he meant, he said, "Life here."

Would we lose an F1 veteran?

Although only 28 years old, the Dutchman has been a stalwart in Formula 1, now in his 12th season of the sport.

He made his debut in 2015 as a 17-year-old and became the youngest driver in Formula 1 to youngest to win a race at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, aged 18 years and seven months.

It has to be said that this was not a retirement announcement from Verstappen - it's much easier to speak abut leaving a sport then to actually leave it all behind.

But the fact that a four-time champion is openly discussing his thoughts on the future, it begs the question what the sport would look like without the domineering figure.

"I see it like this: You hear it from a lot of sports people when you speak to them about how are you successful. It all starts with actually enjoying what you're doing before you can actually commit to it 100 per cent," he said.

"Now, I think I'm committing 100 per cent and I'm still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100 per cent I think is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I'm doing.

"And now people can easily say, 'Yeah, well, you've won so many championships and races and now just because the car is not good you are complaining.'

"Maybe you can see it like that, but I see it different."

Verstappen has never been a driver inherently tied to Formula 1, he regularly has spoken about different ventures he has explored, such as GT3 racing and sim racing.

"I have a lot of other projects anyway that I have a lot of passion about," he said.

"The GT3 racing. Not only racing it myself but also the team. It's really nice and fun to build that. And I really want to build that out further in the coming years.

"It's not like if I would stop here that I'm not going to do anything. I'm always going to have fun. And also I will have fun in a lot of other things in my life.

"But it's a bit sad to be honest that we're even talking about this. It is what it is.

"You don't need to feel sorry for me. I'll be fine."