Despite all the distractions surrounding Red Bull at the start of the season, Verstappen coasted to two race wins in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and looked set to claim his fourth world championship in as many years in the dominant RB20.
However, the Australian Grand Prix provided a surprise as the Dutchman retired from a race for the first time in two years after a brake issue set his car on fire. He yelled down the radio: “I lost the car, really weird!” and fell down the field with smoke pouring out of the vehicle, before entering the pits to retire.
The 26-year-old was furious at having to cut his race short and give up valuable points in the championship. He visibly fumed when exiting the car and could be spotted saying: “So stupid!” to one engineer over his disappointing day.
Verstappen was aiming to equal his own record of 10 consecutive race victories but his angry reaction may end up benefitting Red Bull. Brundle believes that such outbursts are in Verstappen’s nature and only once he stops making them should the team be concerned about his future.
“Despite his incredible run of successes Verstappen was initially very angry that his car had failed,” he wrote for Sky Sports. “When the adrenaline washes away he has become good at managing these moods now, but if he ever loses that fiery passion in the heat of the moment you’ll know he is getting ready to retire.”
Verstappen has rarely hidden his passion for the team and sport, but especially after facing little competition over the past two seasons, Red Bull will be encouraged that he still has a burning desire to be the best on the grid.
That could change in the not-so-distant future, however, having hinted that he could leave F1 entirely once his current contract expires in 2028. When asked if reducing the number of races in a year would extend his career in the sport, Verstappen replied: “Absolutely.
“That has to do with the quality of life in general. At a certain point, I think you’re just kind of done with it. The racing itself is fun, but everything around it with the travelling and with the marketing days, at a certain point, it eats away at you. Then it also doesn’t matter what you earn. In the end, it’s more about being happy with what you do.
“Those are things you don’t really enjoy as a driver, but of course you do them because it’s part of the job. But at some point, you’re done with that.”
