06/07/2023
NEWS STORY
Max Verstappen claims that 24 races a year is too many, as he once again hints at early retirement.
Having previously suggested that the Sprint format could cause him to consider an early retirement from the sport, the two-time world champion has now expressed unease with a 24 race calendar.
Yesterday the FIA announced the schedule for 2024 which sees the season get underway in Bahrain at the beginning of March and conclude in Abu Dhabi in December.
With China back on the schedule, it's a 24 race season, the busiest in the sport's history, and Verstappen isn't happy.
"It is too many for me," he told reporters at Silverstone today, "but we just have to deal with it.
"I think it is a bit more logical the way it's planned at least," he added, referring to the attempt to regionalise the schedule as part of the sport's drive towards greater sustainability, "I guess that's better for everyone.
"More things have to come together for me to make my mind up if I stay longer or not," said the Dutchman, who is contracted to Red Bull to the end of the 2028 season. "All these things are definitely not helping, for sure."
At Mercedes, George Russell joked that the Dutchman is simply holding out for more money.
"He is the highest paid on this grid and rightly so for what he is achieving but I think it is all a big tactic, his threat of retirement," said the Briton.
"I hope he doesn't," he added. "I hope he stays for as long as I stay because I want to fight against the best drivers in the world."