David Coulthard plays down FIA response as Max Verstappen exit talk grows
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen faces the media at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix
David Coulthard does not believe that the FIA will be moved to act, just because Max Verstappen is hinting at leaving Formula 1 after the 2026 season.
Coulthard does, though, believe that it would be a “huge loss” if the sport was to bid farewell to Verstappen, who Coulthard regards as the most recent “generational-defining” driver after Lewis Hamilton. Coulthard floated the idea that if Verstappen did leave, it could prove to be a sabbatical, rather than a permanent F1 exit.
David Coulthard doubts FIA will act over Max Verstappen exit hints
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Verstappen has consistently made it known that he is not a fan of the new F1 2026 regulations.
He took his dissatisfaction to a new level at Suzuka, however, where he confirmed that he is contemplating walking away after this season.
The FIA and Formula 1 will hold a series of meetings throughout April to discuss potential tweaks to the regulations.
A high-speed Suzuka shunt for Oliver Bearman, who had rapidly closed in on Franco Colapinto’s Alpine, heightened the debate about safety with these new regs.
During the Up To Speed podcast, Coulthard was asked whether Verstappen’s F1 exit hints, in isolation, will trigger the FIA to act to keep him happy.
“I don’t think they will,” Coulthard replied.
“I think Max is a generational-defining driver. I think Hamilton was that person before. You have to admire his absolute speed, his absolute commitment.
“And actually, you have to admire his what you see is what you get passion.
“It’d be very easy for him just to do short one-word answers and not feed this conversation, but because he’s passionate about it, because he cares about it, he’s not prepared to say nothing, just cruise and collect, which, some other drivers, maybe are just in that phase of their career.”
That being said, Coulthard does believe that Verstappen would be a “huge loss” for the sport if he walked away.
“The sport is bigger than any individual driver,” Coulthard continued. “The sport has been around for a long time, will continue to be around.
“But, I think that it would be a huge loss if Max was to take time out.”
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Interesting is Coulthard’s “take time out” comment on the Verstappen situation.
Even if Verstappen did leave after F1 2026, Coulthard suggested that the four-time World Champion could return down the line.
“He could go off to do GT racing or Le Mans for a couple of years, like Fernando Alonso did, and then come back to Formula 1,” Coulthard suggested on Verstappen.
“Kimi Raikkonen stepped away from Formula 1, came back with Ferrari.
“These guys can have a career for 25 years. My generation, if you did 10 years that was considered good. It’s a different world today.”
Coulthard’s podcast co-star Naomi Schiff, a former racer in her own right, spelled out the four stages which she believes a driver can go through in their career.
She sees Verstappen now at the final stage of enjoying what he is doing.
Verstappen has consistently stressed that his complaints come from a lack of enjoyment of this formula, and are unrelated to Red Bull’s early F1 2026 struggles.
“I think personally, drivers go through four phases, everywhere they go,” Schiff theorised.
“The first one, you arrive in a championship, you want to prove yourself. Tick. He did that.
“The second thing you want to do is win the championship. Tick. He’s done that.
“The third thing you’d like to do is dominate. Tick. He’s done that.
“And phase four is that you want to enjoy yourself and have fun. And he’s basically, I think, probably at phase four now. He’s won, he’s dominated, he’s proven anything he needs to prove.”
Verstappen’s Red Bull contract runs until the end of the 2028 season.
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