Eddie Irvine says F1 can cope without Max Verstappen but thinks he has plenty of reasons to stay
· Yahoo Sports
Eddie Irvine says Formula 1 wouldn’t miss Max Verstappen if he followed through on retirement talk, arguing the sport has “plenty” of other talented drivers ready to step up.
Questions about how long Verstappen will remain in the sport have increased recently. The Dutchman has yet to address comments he made in Japan after another disappointing result.
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Verstappen has called Red Bull’s car “undriveable,” having qualified outside the top 10 and finished eighth in Suzuka. Alongside his issues with the new power unit regulations, Verstappen admitted after qualifying that he needs time to “figure out” his future.
Eddie Irvine thinks Max Verstappen has £43.5m ‘good reasons’ to stay in Formula 1
After the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen stood by his talk of leaving F1 at the end of 2026, saying he had to decide “is it worth it?” to stick around. While Red Bull have him signed through 2028, there are several release clauses in his deal.
Having seen how quickly things can change in F1, Eddie Irvine understands why Verstappen’s unhappy – going from dominating five straight championships to falling behind Alpine’s Pierre Gasly is a big shift. But Irvine also feels that while Verstappen brings a lot of star power, the sport isn’t short on talent and money shouldn’t be a problem for him anyway.
“F1 doesn’t need Max,” Irvine told Gazzetta dello Sport. “There are plenty of talented drivers. It’s tough for him to find himself in the middle of the pack. But considering his salary, there are over €50 million (£43.5m) in good reasons to stay.”
Verstappen was F1’s highest-paid driver in 2025 at $76m (£57.5m) before bonuses after Red Bull raised his base pay from $60m (£45.5m). However, with McLaren’s Lando Norris taking the 2025 title, Verstappen’s bonuses dropped to $11m (£8.5m).
If he were to retire at the end of 2026, money wouldn’t be a concern for Verstappen either way – Red Bull is even said to be willing to pay him £60m not to race in 2027 if they believe it might bring him back motivated for a return in 2028.
It appears that there is no urgent need for Verstappen to make any decisions about his future right away either. If he is outside of the top two by August during the summer break, he will have until October use his release clause — which now looks more likely than ever this year.
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