Verstappen retirement – FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said F1 would miss Max Verstappen if he retires, but the sport would continue.
Max Verstappen’s retirement chatter may shape the mood of Formula 1, but the FIA president insists the sport will not stand still.
Speaking in Miami during the Miami Grand Prix weekend. Mohammed Ben Sulayem said that if the Red Bull driver follows through on his remarks about possibly stepping away at the end of the season. “we will miss him.” At the same time. he made it clear that F1 would continue moving forward regardless. framing Verstappen’s potential exit as something F1 has seen with other stars and teams over time.. In his view, the FIA and the championship remain the constants.
That matters because Verstappen is not just a points contender for Red Bull. His public stance on the direction of F1, especially around the next technical era, has added weight to the debate inside the paddock.
Ben Sulayem also touched on the ongoing push-and-pull surrounding the 2026 regulations. noting that the FIA has already made changes to the power-unit rules after feedback from drivers.. The president’s comments came with the backdrop of a disrupted early season. when a pair of races were called off due to the war in Iran and the calendar pause left the sport with room to adjust.
Meanwhile, Verstappen has argued that more is still needed, saying the current steps do not go far enough in making the cars truly suitable for drivers to attack flat-out. He pointed to the complexity of getting full agreement, but suggested that next year is where bigger shifts should happen.
For F1, the bigger issue is trust between drivers and the rulebook. When a reigning champion says the current balance is not right, it becomes a test of whether regulation changes will feel meaningful on track.
At the Miami circuit. Verstappen qualified second and afterward said he feels more comfortable in the car. describing it in a way that suggests he is no longer having to adapt to a machine that unsettles his control.. Ben Sulayem added that he recently had a positive interaction with the four-time champion. and he emphasized that while Verstappen voices what he feels. he questioned whether Verstappen’s statements match what he ultimately wants to do.
The FIA president also addressed the future off the track. signaling that Christian Horner would be welcomed if he chooses to return.. Ben Sulayem said he speaks with Horner regularly and suggested the sport “misses” him. pointing to Horner’s long tenure as Red Bull’s team principal since the team entered F1 as a full constructor in 2005.
Ultimately, these remarks underline how F1 is navigating two parallel storylines at once: the potential departure of one of its defining figures, and the sport’s effort to recalibrate the technical direction so the next chapter is not just faster, but clearer for drivers to embrace.