Verstappen to decide his future in the coming weeks

Verstappen started outside the top ten but crossed the line in eighth. However, the four-time world champion couldn’t keep up with the Alpine of former teammate Pierre Gasly. They battled for a while before Gasly got past him with relative ease. At that moment, he waved to the Frenchman, which made for a somewhat comical onboard.

The 28-year-old didn’t really find it funny himself, while confirming to Viaplay that he did indeed wave. “All of a sudden, I’m going fifty kilometres slower here. I was counting down the laps, yeah,” he says. “Fifteen to go, ten to go, five more, come on. Yeah, that’s it,” Verstappen says, managing a smile. He can now describe the Alpine’s rear wing with his eyes closed.

“You know, I was already stuck behind him in China,” the Red Bull Racing driver continues. “In China I was stuck behind a lot of cars. You just can’t make a proper overtake. Yes, you can overtake, but then you’ve got no battery left for the next part. I try to laugh about it, because being frustrated all the time doesn’t help either.”

After qualifying on Saturday, Verstappen said he had “a lot to think about.” When asked what that meant, he hinted at retirement. “Yeah, I need to see what I really want,” Verstappen says after the race. “It’s about the future, that’s what it’s about. Not my private life. I’ll use the coming weeks, months for that.”

Reporter Chiel van Koldenhoven notes that it doesn’t sound very promising. “Life goes on, you know. There’s more to life than Formula 1. There are other things you can do,” says Verstappen, who then expresses his hope to take part in the qualifying races for the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring.

In between, he’ll also head to the theatre for an evening with Viaplay. “Well, I don’t think I’m very good at that, but we’ll see!” Verstappen laughs.

During the spring break in April, discussions will be held about what can be changed in the rules ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. “Hopefully a lot, because we have a lot of problems,” Verstappen says. “So hopefully the cars will become a bit more drivable. The race was basically the same as qualifying. Of course I moved a bit forward, but that’s about it,” he concludes.

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