Will Verstappen stay with Red Bull forever, or retire early? 

Following his maiden F1 world championship triumph in 2021, the Dutchman signed a five-year extension to his Red Bull contract. By the time the deal expires, Verstappen will be 31 years old. 

Verstappen wrapped up his second successive world title at the Japanese Grand Prix after taking his 12th win from 18 races. 

Amid his domination of the 2022 campaign, Verstappen has been tipped for an F1 dynasty similar to seven-time world champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. 

But Verstappen, a double world champion at the age of 25, has indicated that he has no desire to race as long as the likes of 37-year-old Hamilton or 41-year-old Fernando Alonso. 

"I don't see myself driving until I'm 40 because I want to also do other stuff," Verstappen told the official F1 website. 

"I'm having a lot of fun with what I'm doing right now and I'm still in F1 for a couple more years... I'm signed until ’28.

"After that, it also depends how everything is going but I will probably try to do a few different kinds of racing because it's important also to try different things.”

He added: "I really enjoy being part of this team for a long time and hopefully for a long time to come.”

Hakkinen claims Verstappen will leave Red Bull 

After beating Hamilton to the world title at the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen declared he wanted to stay with Red Bull “for the rest of my life”. 

But fellow two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen believes Verstappen may be tempted to switch teams when his Red Bull contract runs out. 

Mercedes have long been keeping tabs on Verstappen, having previously courted him when he was racing in European Formula 3 prior to being snapped up by the Red Bull junior programme. In 2020, Toto Wolff ruled out the prospect of Mercedes signing Verstappen while Hamilton was still at the team. 

“It is great that Verstappen signs such a long-term contract, but there is always the risk that when important people leave the car is no longer performing to the driver’s expectations,” Hakkinen told Unibet.

“At that point, a driver will wonder if it is time to switch teams. I don’t think Max Verstappen will stay with Red Bull for the rest of his career.

“That’s just my opinion. But historically, drivers have often switched teams for various reasons, even if they had multiple titles with one specific team. That could be financial reasons, or simply because they were ready for a new environment.”