Damon Hill believes that if Max Verstappen decides to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2026 season, it could put the category in a ‘huge problem’.
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The Red Bull driver is quite dissatisfied with the category’s new technical regulations and has put his continuity beyond this year in doubt, threatening an early retirement.
After the first three rounds, the FIA held a series of meetings and presented specific adjustments that will be introduced starting this Miami GP weekend, which could change the four-time champion’s attitude.
Speaking about the situation, Hill believes that Bernie Ecclestone would never allow a driver of Verstappen’s caliber to leave F1 and race in other categories – the Dutchman has competed in GT3 and will race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
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“If Max were to say — and this is already in the realm of hypothesis — ‘Look, enough is enough. I’m leaving. Gianpiero left, everyone I worked with at Red Bull left, and I’m tired of these cars. I’m going to do what I want,’ that was always the big fear regarding Bernie [Ecclestone],” he said.
“That’s why he created Formula 1… he kind of stifled all other rival categories because he didn’t want competition. There was nowhere to go. But now there is: there are the Le Mans categories, IndyCar, and so on. He could do something radical and get out, at least for a while. And that presents huge problems for F1 marketing, doesn’t it?” he continued.
“Let’s say the biggest name, or the most sought-after talent, decides to tell Formula 1 to go to hell — that wouldn’t look good for the stock price,” he concluded.
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