Max Verstappen has joined Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna as a three-time world champion; F1 returns with the United States GP - live on Sky Sports F1 from October 20-22
Thursday 12 October 2023 12:13, UK
Newly crowned world champion Max Verstappen says it would be a "beautiful story" if he were to remain with Red Bull for the rest of his Formula 1 career.
Verstappen sealed a third successive drivers' title over the weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix, with the Dutchman on course to break multiple records in the dominant RB19.
Having been promoted from Red Bull's junior outfit Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) midway through his second season in the sport in 2016, Verstappen's 49 subsequent victories have established himself as the team's most successful driver in terms of race wins.
He is contracted to Red Bull until the end of the 2028 season but has previously suggested the quality of the car the team provide to him will be the key factor in whether that deal is extended.
"It would be a beautiful story if I could drive here forever, that's for sure, something that will be amazing," Verstappen told Sky Sports F1.
"I'm really happy with where I am. I feel at home, I feel really happy with the people who are very close to me here in the team.
"For me, this is not something that I need to seek. I have a few more years left on my contract anyway, so I'm just enjoying the moment."
Verstappen says his desire for self-improvement ensures he remains motivated while amid near his near total domination of the sport over the last year or so.
Having won his first title in the most intense and dramatic of circumstances by controversially pipping Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 title, Verstappen eased away from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in the second half of 2022, and has been in a league of his own for almost the entire 2023 campaign.
Asked if he prefers a closer contest to what he has experienced this season, Verstappen said: "Yes and no. I mean, yes, to fight different teams.
"But on the other hand, I also really challenge myself. I really try to get the best out of myself every single weekend.
"I try to look at things that I can do better and I try to improve as a driver, which I think is also great because you have all this success, right?
"But every single year you learn and you become better as a driver, not necessarily faster, but probably you can handle situations a bit better because of your experience and you learn from your difficult moments, your good moments.
"I think as a driver you have them all, you have bad moments, good moments. That's what makes this sport, I think, also so beautiful."
If he were to extend his career beyond 2028, Verstappen appears well placed to have an opportunity to equal or even break the record of seven championships jointly held by Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
However, he has repeatedly insisted that records do not motivate him, and that the strength of his passion for competing is what will dictate how long he remains in the cockpit.
Asked about the prospect of going on to win more world championships, Verstappen said: "No, for me, that's not really what I'm after.
"I'm just, like I said, enjoying the moment. I try to do the best I can. Of course, you're very dependent on your material as well that you get in F1.
"I'll do it as long as I like it and that I, you know, when I look at myself in the mirror and I can tell myself that I'm fully committed and 100 per cent going to go for it.
"Once that day arrives where I can't be fully committed anymore, that's where I'm going to stop, because then you're not in it anymore.
"I find passion is incredibly important to be successful, because every time I come to the track, I want to win, I want to try to do the best I can."
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