Max Verstappen sabbatical touted ahead of major F1 change

Max Verstappen could take a sabbatical from F1 at the end of this year and come back at the turn of the decade when V8 engines are slated for a return.

That is the verdict of former Force India, Racing Point, Aston Martin and Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer, who believes a potential Verstappen exit from F1 at the end of this year would be "a loss" to the sport.

The four-time champion is known to be considering his options after being left dispirited by the new regulations for this season, and the 50-50 split in power between combustion and electrical energy.

Verstappen has far from enjoyed utilising the battery to get the most from his Red Bull over the first four grands prix, after which he currently finds himself 74 points adrift of early championship leader, Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli, in the drivers' standings.

It remains to be seen whether a shift in the power unit to 60-40 for next season will be enough to keep him on board, or whether he would walk away, and potentially return in 2030 or 2031 when V8s run on fully sustainable fuels are used.

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem recently confirmed that this would be the case, and he already has support from Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Red Bull counterpart Laurent Mekies.

If 2030 at the earliest, that would leave Verstappen on the sidelines for three years. Szafnauer, however, does not see an issue.

"Max is a generational talent, and I think Formula 1 benefits from the fact that a generational talent like Max Verstappen is racing in their series," said Szafnauer, speaking on a special edition of the RacingNews365.com podcast, airing on Thursday afternoon. "It would be a loss if he left.

"Perhaps something like the V8s coming back in a few years might keep him there. Or, if he does leave, I remember Kimi Räikkönen leaving, I remember Fernando Alonso leaving.

"Räikkönen left, went rallying, probably snowmobile racing, all sorts of stuff, came back and started winning races again. So it can be done.

"Max could leave and then decide to come back when the powertrains are more suited to what he thinks an F1 powertrain should be. Or, if he's safe in the knowledge that it's changing anyway, he could stick it out.

"But yeah, he is a generational talent. Even the [other] drivers would say he's among the best on the grid today, if not the best. In my opinion, he is the best."