PF1 verdict: Would ‘nobody’ really ‘care’ if Max Verstappen left F1?

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Max Verstappen and Jacques Villeneuve.

Jacques Villeneuve claimed "nobody cares" if Max Verstappen leaves F1. But is he right?

Jacques Villeneuve has declared “nobody” will care if four-time World Champion Max Verstappen quit Formula 1, while everyone “cares” about Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari.

After all, says the 1997 World Champion, Hamilton is the “biggest driver of all time” and transcends the world of Formula 1.

Would nobody really care if Max Verstappen left F1?

Speaking about Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, which is set to largely define the F1 2025 season, Villeneuve told Action Network: “Lewis Hamilton moving to Ferrari is the most high-profile F1 move since Michael Schumacher left Benetton for Ferrari. Independent of race results, Lewis Hamilton is the biggest driver of all time because of all the following he has.

“He’s very different. He’s unique. He’s broken the mould. There’s a lot that hangs on him. He has the biggest image. His image goes beyond F1. And there’s not many drivers like that.

“Take Verstappen out of F1. Nobody cares. Take Hamilton out of F1, people care.”

However, given Verstappen is Formula 1’s reigning World Champion and one of only six drivers in the sport’s history to have won four or more titles, it begs the question: is Villeneuve right, or has Verstappen made enough of an impact that fans will care?

JV is doing Max Verstappen a disservice

By Michelle Foster

Would I care if Max Verstappen left Formula 1? In 2023, definitely not but that wasn’t because he hadn’t made an impact on the sport, it was because he was making too big of an impact with his 19 wins in 22 races.

However, last season as he came under pressure to retain the World title, he again became interesting as he had been in his early years in the sport – a character and at times the villain.

Love him or hate him, Verstappen helped to reignite interest in Formula 1 after Mercedes’ seven-year dominance as he challenged Lewis Hamilton for the World title. Gifting fans one of the best title fights since Michael Schumacher’s Williams battles, Verstappen didn’t hold back in his on-track actions or his words afterwards.

He’s set to play a starring role in the next exciting battle, F1 2025, with pundits predicting Red Bull will face massive competition from McLaren and Ferrari. And given no-holds-barred is the only way Verstappen knows to race. It should be a thriller. How could Formula 1 fans not care if such an entertaining driver left the sport?

Let’s not forget the FIA even rewrote the sport’s rulebook because of Verstappen. Remember the ‘Max Verstappen rule’ for no moving under braking? Well after his battles with Lando Norris last season, the rulebook is again being revised because of Verstappen.

Verstappen’s impact on F1 may not be Hamilton’s, which Villeneuve is right in saying goes beyond F1, but when it comes to the sport we love, he’s made his mark and he will hopefully continue to do so for years to come. Villeneuve does the Red Bull driver a disservice by trivialising his worth to F1.

Hamilton wants to add to an established legacy, Verstappen’s is still building

By Henry Valantine

Where I will agree with Villeneuve is the day Lewis Hamilton decides to depart Formula 1, it will be seismic not just for this sport, but for sport itself.

His achievements on track are, among so many statistics, the greatest the sport has ever seen – but to say “nobody cares” about Verstappen leaving F1 would ignore the absolute sea of orange at Zandvoort every year, and much more besides.

Let’s not forget, Verstappen is probably the reason Formula 1 even returned to the Netherlands in the first place for a race. If that isn’t part of your marketing ‘image’, what is?

Even though Verstappen has been in the sport for a decade now as of this season (sorry if anyone feels old now), the key difference between himself and Hamilton is that when Hamilton departs, his fanbase know his story so well because so much of it is already written.

A new chapter is about to begin at Ferrari to try and add even more success, but with Verstappen, despite his four titles to date, if he left the sport soon, one cannot help but feel that – not only would a lot of people care – but because of his age, it would feel like his story is unfinished, and would be for a long time to come.

As and when the time comes for him to try his hand at endurance racing in the years ahead, how many fans and pundits are we going to hear share their ‘hot take’ of: “Well, the best driver isn’t even in F1 because he’s in WEC” repeatedly? It might be quite a few. And he might get asked about a Formula 1 comeback quite a lot, too.

Agree with it or not, that’s the regard in which he is held by so many, and that’s why it will be noticed when he does call it a day.

Hamilton and Verstappen are just different personalities

By Oliver Harden

Villeneuve’s words are more a commentary on the contrasting personalities of Hamilton and Verstappen than their respective feats and achievements.

While Hamilton is a household name that transcends F1, his reach extending across the globe, Verstappen is a far more insular figure unmoved by everything outside of his immediate sphere.

There is something – a lot, actually – to be said for Verstappen’s (purer?) old-school outlook, his contentment with being a highly successful F1 driver with no temptation to chase superstardom and his utter disdain for anything unrelated to racing (recall his response, falling somewhere between disgusted and confused, to the noise surrounding F1’s return to Las Vegas in 2023).

That all-consuming focus, that determination to avoid distraction, has been a key factor behind his enduring success.

It is undeniable, though, that Hamilton’s departure would have a far greater impact on F1’s standing commercially.

Ask yourself this: if Lewis’s switch to Ferrari for 2025 is Formula 1’s answer to David Beckham joining Real Madrid, how would a potential Max move to Mercedes for 2026 measure up in comparison?

Would it capture the imagination of non-F1 people in the same way? Highly unlikely.

Yet what does that really matter? Sport is not a popularity contest. Never has been.

As racing drivers, they are both to be cherished while they’re still here.

We’ll miss them both when they’re gone.

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