Brundle: Verstappen Won't Quit F1 With Competitive Car
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- Brundle said on The F1 Show podcast that he doesn't believe Verstappen will walk away from F1 'providing he can get a car that pleases him,' praising his 'generational speed and car control.'
- Verstappen said after Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix — the third race of the 2026 season — that he is 'seriously considering' his future in F1 because competing in the new cars feels more like energy management than pure speed and skill.
- The 2026 regulations represent the biggest rule change in F1 history, introducing new power units and chassis with greater reliance on electrical energy in a push for sustainability, splitting opinion among drivers: Verstappen is the most vocal critic while seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has praised the more exciting racing.
- Red Bull have manufactured their own engine for the first time in team history and started the season well off Mercedes's benchmark, leaving Verstappen with three consecutive races outside the top five — a drought not seen since summer 2017, shortly before he turned 20.
- Brundle said he has 'absolutely no doubt' Verstappen's management built in a year-end exit clause to assess Red Bull's first-year powertrain, noting Mercedes has said 'there's no place at this particular inn at the moment.'
- Verstappen has been investing in life outside F1: he owns a sim racing team, competed in GT3 at the Nürburgring between the China and Japan races, and is set to enter the circuit's 24-hour endurance race in May.
Why it matters: Verstappen's potential exit would be the single most seismic driver move in modern F1, but Brundle's read — that an exit clause exists and Mercedes has no seat — narrows the realistic options to either Red Bull fixing their in-house engine or Verstappen walking away from the sport entirely. With three straight non-top-five finishes and a self-built powertrain still well behind Mercedes, the clock on Red Bull's recovery is effectively the clock on Verstappen's career in F1.
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