‘This keeps the fire going’ – Max Verstappen hints at retirement U-turn amid winning streak

Max Verstappen says that having a car capable of winning races “keeps the fire going” as he appeared to distance himself from previous claims he would retire at the end of his current contract with Red Bull.

To make his performance all the more impressive around the iconic Spa-Francorchamps, Verstappen started sixth after serving a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his gearbox allowance and still recovered to finish 22 seconds clear of Perez, who lined up second but assumed the lead on the first lap.

Verstappen has previously hinted that he could retire from Formula 1 at the end of his current contract, which expires in 2028 when he will be 31, but admitted it would be tough to walk away if Red Bull continue to provide him with such a dominant car.

“This keeps the fire going. If I have to rock up and I have no chance of winning then the fire starts to go away.

“It depends what we what we keep doing every single year but this year, it’s looking great. Next year is again a completely different year.”

Despite the winning streak he and Red Bull are on and the serene nature of his victories, Verstappen insisted he is still looking for ways to improve.

“It’s not so much about learning about myself, it’s just always wanting more and I’m trying to look at every single situation what you could have done better,” he added.

“I know that how I’ve been brought up as well to always want more and always look at details. Even when people say that it’s great or amazing, there are always things that can be done better.”

Red Bull have won every single race of the 2023 Formula 1 season so far and, such is their level of dominance, could realistically become the first team to complete a clean sweep.

After the race in Belgium, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner acknowledged the predictability might not be what the fans want to see, but hailed Verstappen as a “once in a generation” driver.

“He is levels of superiority over everybody at the moment. What we are witnessing with Max at the moment is something you see once in a generation,” Horner said.

“Like all the great drivers, he has that extra capacity. His ability to read a tyre, read the race and extract absolutely everything out of it, it’s great to see. He’s at the top of his form at the moment.”