Max Verstappen receives IndyCar invite as Norris suffers ‘12-year-old’ radio verdict

Max Verstappen has been told he should consider a post-F1 future in IndyCar by former two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk.

The Dutchman’s future after F1 is a subject that receives a lot of interest due to Verstappen’s continued insistence that he wants to try his hand at other series.

Max Verstappen told to try IndyCar in post-F1 career

With suggestions that Verstappen may even give F1 up after 2028, when his contract expires, there is speculation over what he may do next.

He was recently at the Nürburgring in a GT3 car, hinting at what he may see as his future. But Luyendyk wants to see him in IndyCar instead.

“I would love to see him in an IndyCar,” Luyendyk told RACER.

“Yeah, he’s an amazing talent. And on top of that, he’s a nice guy. To me, he is.”

Luyendyk carved a successful career out in American open-wheel racing, making his debut in 1984 and winning the 1990 Indianapolis 500.

But while he’s keen to see Verstappen follow him into the US scene, he noted the differnce between the four-time champion and his rival, Lando Norris, in their radio communication.

“I was watching the Brazilian race on Netflix, and there’s the radio communication. And then you hear Lando on the radio, and then you hear Max, and it’s like you’re listening to a 12-year-old Lando and you’re listening to a 30-year-old veteran Max,” Luyendyk said.

“So calm, so calculated. Like, ‘Yeah, I can last another five minutes in this weather,’ you know, and Lando was saying, ‘Oh, we’re all going to die,’ or something like that.”

He added, “He can do so much at the same time. He’s a multitasking kind of guy. And I think it stems from all the racing he did as a kid in go-karting. But then the sim racing, that helps him a lot too in that – like he was following Lando somewhere, and he said he didn’t slow down enough when there was a yellow out, and Lando got a penalty for that.

More on Max Verstappen from PlanetF1.com

The seven F1 race tracks Max Verstappen has never won at

Red Bull ‘practically have only one driver’ in ‘retired, failed or crushed’ verdict

“He just sees it – the whole picture – he’s got it in one nanosecond.”

As to how Verstappen became like that, Luyendyk pointed to the role of hard taskmaster Jos Verstappen.

“I might have been too soft. I wouldn’t have been aggressive enough,” Luyendyk said.

“I’ve heard stories where he would be so verbal with him, it was unbelievable. Almost like child abuse. But hey, it made Max what he is. Next level kind of driver, but also mental.”

Read next: Alan Permane sends message to ‘Red Bull Austria’ over ‘shock’ new role