Max Verstappen pinpoints Red Bull decision to keep him 'satisfied'

Max Verstappen has stated he has had various talks with Red Bull about his desire to be involved in non-F1 projects, which helps keep him “satisfied”.

Verstappen has had an increased presence in GT and endurance racing of late, taking part in a Nordschleife event last year and winning it alongside team-mate Chris Lulham.

He is also widely expected to take part in the Nurburgring 24 Hours later this year.

The Dutchman founded the Verstappen.com Racing team a handful of years ago, which competes in GT3, rallying and virtual racing competitions.

The four-time champion highlighted the importance of such projects, which keep him content alongside his F1 duties.

"Of course I talked to Red Bull about my ideas and they were very open about it,” Verstappen told Viaplay.

“At the end of the day, as a team, you want to have a satisfied driver and not a frustrated driver. And this is what keeps me satisfied.”

Explaining his decision to set up his own team, Verstappen insisted it was about setting the framework for when his own driving career comes to an end.

"At the moment, I don't have the time to build the GT team all by myself, which is why we have chosen to have our formation run by existing teams, to Emil Frey Racing and 2 Seas Motorsport,” he said.

"I keep myself busy with other passion projects. Your own racing career is not forever, so a few years ago the idea of setting up your own team was born.

"When you have achieved all that you have wanted to achieve in F1, you also enjoy a bit more freedom to look at other things. 

“I love racing and love driving different cars, something that of course was already taking shape in the virtual racing world. I enjoyed that and from there I slowly started setting up some things and thus Verstappen.com Racing was born.”