FIA warned Max Verstappen will quit Formula 1 as future questioned amid swearing row

Having dropped a hint of doubt over his Formula 1 future after getting caught up in the FIA swearing clampdown, Max Verstappen can be trusted to walk out.

That is according to six times F1 Grand Prix winner Ralf Schumacher who expects the FIA is in a very real danger of the current three times F1 World Champion retiring from the sport if the swearing dispute between the racer and the sporting body deepens.

Ralf Schumacher: ‘I rely on Max Verstappen to stop’
Before the Singapore Grand Prix, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem demanded to stop the use of fruty language in Formula 1, as ‘We have to set ourselves apart from rap music”. Some flouting the shame was dealt to Verstappen who fell under the new clampdown by swearing in the pre-race weekend conference.

Told to do ‘some work of public interest’ as deterrent – one which former title rival Lewis Hamilton had encouraged him to boycott – Verstappen returned short answers in the FIA press debriefs, while conducting separate media briefings outside the press conference area.

But, is this spat enough to influence Verstappen’s future in Formula 1?

“Oh, for sure,” he confirmed to the media in Singapore.

“Yeah. I mean, these kinds of things definitely decide my future as well, when you can’t be yourself, or you have to deal with these kinds of silly things.

“I think now, I’m at the stage of my career that you don’t want to be dealing with this all the time. It’s really tiring, you know?

“Of course, it’s great to have success and win races, but once you have accomplished all that, winning championships and races, and then you want to just have a good time as well.

“Of course, everyone is pushing to the limit, everyone in this battle, even at the back of the grid. But if you have to deal with all these kind of silly things, for me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that’s for sure.”

And Schumacher thinks the FIA would be wise to believe what Verstappen is saying.

“I trust Max to stop if this escalates because he is simply independent,” Schumacher told Sky Germany.

“He has enough money. He has often spoken about the fact that he won’t be in Formula 1 forever. So I wouldn’t rule it out.”

FIA rules introduced with Max Verstappen in mind.

However, saying that the FIA president will not be ‘clever enough’ to cancel Verstappen’s community service, Schumacher is out of phase with Hamilton, urging Verstappen to play along.

For instance, Schumacher said, “You hear that Max feels he’s been treated unfairly.” “We all know it: You become headstrong and start saying: ‘No I will not accept that’. But, at the end of the day, I believe he will not have a chance.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t put much stock in Ben Sulayem to be smart enough to turn the tables around and call it a caution instead. So if I were Max, I consider it an opportunity and select my preferred project and, in doing so, potentially assist children or something. Then I think that the cow will be off the ice.”

The Red Bull racer, Verstappen, who is seeking to win the fourth consecutive World Championship, has 243 points, which keeps him 52 points ahead of the chasing Lando Norris as F1 2024 races to the final round.