Will Verstappen really quit F1 or are his empty threats just a way to challenge the rules?

He had already made it crystal clear during pre-season testing in Bahrain, then again at the opening round, in China and, inevitably, in Japan as well, Verstappen is sounding like a broken record and has made his point - he is not a fan of this new era of Formula 1 and its regulations.

While that is no longer a secret, what unfolded at the end of the Japanese GP has sparked further debate as the new rules were criticised both in terms of racing and safety, and it culminated in the Dutchman reaching for his trump card and reissuing the threat of walking away.

Not a direct or explicit warning, nor a concrete ultimatum, but something more subtle - reading between the lines. Almost as if he didn’t want to commit to walking just yet and rather send a loud and clear message that he was unhappy and wants change.

In F1's 76 years of history, no driver has ever been bigger than Formula 1 itself. At the same time, though, losing one of the sport’s biggest characters would be a major blow for the sport.

The sport’s key stakeholders had spent weeks talking up the new regulations, buoyed by the number of overtakes and the on-track spectacle seen in the opening rounds - even if there’s a debate to be had about the nature of those moves. But the frightening crash involving Oliver Bearman during the Japanese GP has reopened the debate.

While the discussion had previously centred on the show produced by these new cars, safety is a different matter altogether. Witnessing an incident of that magnitude caused by a sudden speed delta - with the car ahead abruptly running out of battery - is simply not acceptable.

This is exactly where Verstappen and others could make their point stick, in what is shaping up to be a crucial month for Formula 1, influenced by the enforced break following the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

It remains unlikely that a champion of Verstappen’s calibre - despite already building a reputation in other categories he finds more rewarding from a racing standpoint - would walk away from the pinnacle of motorsport before even turning 30.

That said, playing the exit card as an ultimate threat speaks volumes about how close the Dutchman is to the limit, to the point of even putting his own career on the line to force change.

Verstappen has made his move - now it’s up to the FIA to respond. Will they act, or continue to turn a deaf ear? The answer won’t be long in coming.

The Dutchman spent much of the race bottled up behind Pierre Gasly’s Alpine, which, despite lacking outright pace compared to the RB22, managed to stay ahead thanks to the strength of its Mercedes power unit.

While chasing the Frenchman, Verstappen engaged in a brief exchange with his race engineer, making a pointed remark as he highlighted how difficult it was to overtake from inside the cockpit compared to the view from the pit wall.