Max Verstappen's post-retirement plans have already been rejected by his girlfriend Kelly Piquet as the Red Bull star dropped a huge hint on his Formula 1 future after winning his fourth world title.
On Saturday night, Mercedes driver George Russell drove a superb race to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.
However, all the headlines were made by Verstappen, who clinched his fourth F1 world title after finishing fifth and ahead of his closest challenger Lando Norris, who came home in sixth place.
Speaking after his title win, Verstappen again spoke about his F1 future, stating the things that he wants to do more in life away from the track.
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The Dutchman said: "I mean, there's so many more things that I want to do in life, to have a bit of fun and catch up with my family.
"Sometimes my dad or my mum calls me and I'm like 'I'm busy'. You know, I'll call them back later but I also know there will be a day that they are not calling me anymore because they won't be here."
Verstappen added: "These kinds of moments make me realise that it's not all about racing in Formula 1 and I want to spend time with them. From when I was four years old, our lives and my family's lives have been dedicated to me and success and trying to get to Formula 1.
"At one point, that's enough and then you have to give back and spend more time with them. At the end of the day, that's way more important than you know, all the success here. That's great I mean, I love it, I love to be competitive, I love to win championships and I love to win races but at one point, family again comes first because people get older and you really have to savour these moments."
With his long-term future in the sport still to be decided, it has already been reported that Verstappen's post-retirement routine has been rejected by his girlfriend Kelly, daughter of ex-F1 driver Nelson Piquet.
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Back in 2022, Verstappen and Piquet were speaking as they filmed Viaplay's 'Max Verstappen: Anatomy of a Champion' documentary, which was released in 2023.
At the time, the pair were attending a ceremony where Verstappen was made an Officer of the Order of the Chamber of Nassau - one of the highest honours in the Netherlands.
As reported by The Express, after being asked if they had a nice holiday during what was that season's summer break, Kelly said: "Yes."
Verstappen was then quizzed on if he had gained any weight. He responded: "Yeah, I gained three, three and a half kilos again. But I lost it in one week".
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The interviewer joked: "After 40, it doesn't work like that anymore, I'm afraid." To which Verstappen admitted: "Oh, but when I'm 40, I'm not racing anymore. So then I can eat what I want."
Kelly quickly replied: "No, no, no." Verstappen replied: "No? I'm gonna become like a sausage roll." Kelly then simply laughed and said: "No."
F1 will return this weekend with the Qatar Grand Prix, with the race taking place around the Losail Circuit on Sunday afternoon.
Topics: Formula 1, Max Verstappen
Marcus Chan