Formula 1: Max Verstappen might consider IndyCar and Le Mans when he's 'old and slow'

Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen has stated that he might consider driving in IndyCar and Le Mans when he is “old and slow”.

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen has not ruled out driving in IndyCar or the 24 Hours of Le Mans before retiring from his professional racing career, but the 20-year-old Formula 1 driver has revealed that he does not plan on driving in anything other than Formula 1 in the near future.

Verstappen, who is in his fourth full season in Formula 1 and his second full season driving for Red Bull Racing, revealed that he would consider driving in IndyCar and the 24 Hours of Le Mans only when he is “old and slow”, two things that are currently nowhere near being the case.

Verstappen already has four career Formula 1 victories to his name, including one in the Austrian Grand Prix this season. No other driver in the history of Formula 1 had even won one race at his age.

More from Formula One

The Dutchman earned his first career Formula 1 victory in the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix at the age of 18 years and 228 days, which shattered the previous record for the youngest winner in Formula 1 history by more than two and a half years. That record was held by Sebastian Vettel, who won his first career Formula 1 race at the age of 21 years and 73 days by winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

With rumors regarding a future in IndyCar for two-time Formula 1 champion and 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Fernando Alonso, who currently drives for McLaren in Formula 1 and has not won a Formula 1 race since he won the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix when he still drove for Scuderia Ferrari, here is what Verstappen had to say about possibly driving in IndyCar and/or the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future, according to Autoweek.

"“Doing things outside F1 is something that happens mainly with drivers who are not winning…Maybe. If I’m old and slow, I will do [IndyCar and/or Le Mans].“When you have the best car on the grid, everyone can win with that car. Any F1 driver could have won in the Mercedes for the last four years. Everyone knows that. That’s why you don’t see [Lewis] Hamilton leaving to do these things because he doesn’t need to. It’s the same for me. I’m in a position to fight for victories, so my motivation is very high. I don’t want to do Le Mans or IndyCar or whatever.”"

These rumors currently surround Alonso due to the fact that he skipped last year’s Monaco Grand Prix to drive in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time, and it is clear that he wants to return to compete in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” again, perhaps even as a full-time IndyCar driver.

The 36-year-old Spaniard also won this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, meaning that because he is a two-time winner of the Monaco Grand Prix, he only needs a victory in the Indy 500 to become just the second driver to win each of the three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport. The other driver who won all three of those races is Graham Hill.

In regard to Alonso and the uncertainly surrounding his future in Formula 1 since he has a very small chance of landing a ride with a team that will give him what he needs to add to his career win total of 32, Verstappen stated that his father, Jos, also experienced a lack of motivation when he was driving in Formula 1 and was driving for teams that did not give him what he needed to win races.

Here is what Max Verstappen had to say about the matter, according to Autoweek.

"“My father had the same problem. He was in F1 but he didn’t win, and there’s a moment when the motivation simply disappears and it kills you inside.”"

Max Verstappen is not currently experiencing this lack of motivation, so don’t expect him to see him competing in IndyCar or the 24 Hours of Le Mans at any point in the near future.

Next: Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of all-time

Will Max Verstappen ever drive in the Indianapolis 500 or in IndyCar as a full-time driver? Will he ever compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans? If so, what age will he be when he competes in these non-Formula 1 races and series? For how long will he drive in Formula 1?

Home/Formula One

Formula 1: Max Verstappen might consider IndyCar and Le Mans when he’s ‘old and slow’

By Asher Fair | Jul 10, 2018

Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen has stated that he might consider driving in IndyCar and Le Mans when he is “old and slow”.