2 weeks Ago By Amos Murphy
Max Verstappen has put Red Bull bosses on red alert after it was suggested the Dutchman could ‘take a year off’ from Formula One following the birth of his first child. Verstappen has endured a mixed start to the 2025 season, with speculation surrounding his future at Red Bull continuing to grow. Verstappen is under contract at Red Bull until 2028 and has repeatedly reiterated his intention to see it out.
However, that has done little to silence the exit talk, with recent reports suggesting Aston Martin have tabled a big-money offer for the four-time world champion . Any attempts to get Verstappen to sign on the dotted line could render them meaningless, though, should the 27-year-old take a one-year sabbatical, as has been rumoured by an unnamed Formula One driver. The claim, which was made in a report by The Sun, would see Verstappen sit out a whole year of Formula One action, so he can spend more time with his soon-to-be-born child.
Verstappen is expecting his first child with Kelly Piquet, the daughter of motorsport legend Nelson Piquet, to be born in the coming weeks, with the due date believed to be after the Miami Grand Prix, which is scheduled for Sunday May 4. It would give him a window of a couple of weeks to spend time with the newborn before racing resumes in Imola on 16 May, with Verstappen not expected to be planning any time off during the current Formula One season. Instead, as per the report, Verstappen is said to be considering an extended break from the sport following the conclusion of the 2025 season.
Should that prove the case, the question then would be, which constructor is he contracted to, if any at all? In the build-up to this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen doubled down on his commitment to Red Bull , insisting he is still “happy” working under Christian Horner and co. He explained: "Honestly a lot of people are talking about it except me. I just want to focus on my car and work with the people in my team.
That is all I am thinking about in Formula One at the moment. "I am happy [at Red Bull ], I’m just not very happy with our car. But that goes for everyone, we all want to be better, there’s no secret about that.
That’s what we’re trying to improve.".
