Ex-Formula One driver Mark Blundell has tipped Max Verstappen to retire early and leave the debate over who is the greatest motorsport driver ever wide open. Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are currently tied with the most F1 world championships of all time with seven titles, though Verstappen is gaining on the pair rapidly.
Three-time world champion Verstappen coasted to victory in the first two races of the 2024 season and is the overwhelming favourite to claim his fourth title this year. He would be over halfway to Hamilton and Schumacher’s tallies by the time he is 27, fueling the idea that he may surpass both F1 greats.
However, the Dutchman has already hinted that he could retire early and Blundell believes that such records are of little interest to Verstappen. The former McLaren driver has claimed that Verstappen will retire “when he’s had enough” and closing in on historic feats will have less importance than some of his peers.
When asked by AceOdds whether Verstappen will be in the conversation for the greatest F1 driver of all time in a few years, Blundell replied: “Well, I think he could be in a conversation that we’re having at the moment about Schumacher and Hamilton, for sure. Yeah.
“Unless somebody knocks them off their perch, I think Red Bull and Verstappen as a combination are going to be tough to beat, especially over the next season or two. It’s definitely got some possibilities there of putting a name in the history books of the big scorers. But I think Max is an interesting character.
“He’s one of those guys that you could very easily see him go and do something and actually just walk away from it and that would be the end of that. I don’t kind of see him at the moment being one of these guys is going to stay in for the rest of his days.
“He doesn’t strike me as that person, I might be wrong, but it just strikes me that he’s all about getting done what he needs to do and the job at hand, and when he’s had enough, he’s had enough. We’ll wait and see.”
Hamilton leads Schumacher and every other driver in most F1 race wins of all time with 103 victories, but Verstappen is over halfway to the Brit’s tally. He seemingly places very little emphasis on matching or breaking such a record, however, echoing Blundell’s view that Verstappen could retire early and leave the debate for greatest-ever wide open.
He told TIME Magazine in 2023: “Would I like to win seven (titles)? Yeah, why not? Even if I don’t win seven, I know that there’s still so many more things in life than F1. I’m already very happy with what I have achieved… at one point you have to outweigh the success against just general quality of life.
“I feel like I’m living out of a bag, out of a hotel, all the time. At the moment that’s fine. I love driving. I love winning. But the older you get, maybe one day that’s not anymore what I want.”
