1996 Formula 1 World Champion Damon Hill has told Max Verstappen to “stop and do something else,” amid the Dutchman’s ongoing unhappiness with and in the sport.
Verstappen has been continuing to voice his displeasure with the current state of F1, as the new regulations cycle continues to promote discontent within the grid.
Naturally, the lack of performance from the Red Bull team and its RB22 has been an additional source of disappointment, as Verstappen has sought enjoyment from additional racing.
It has led to the four-time World Champion hinting that he was pondering a retirement from the sport, using the current enforced four-week break to consider his options.
And Hill, speaking to the BBC, urged Verstappen to make good on that threat.
“I think if you’re not happy doing something, you should stop and do something else,” he said. “You’re not obliged to do it.
“Max doesn’t have to do this. He’s a new dad as well, and he’s been doing it for a long time. There does come a point where the chewing gum loses its flavour a bit. Maybe he needs a break.”
Verstappen has also indicated that he has tried to reason with the FIA about the rules, with many drivers also discussing similar suggestions to improve the current standard of racing.
But Hill is sceptical that Verstappen’s attempts to change the landscape will come to nothing.
“If he’s saying this in order to get some leverage on the way things are at the moment, I don’t think that will work,” he said.
“I think that approach … people will just say ‘Max, go away, come back when you’ve had a think about it.’ You can’t always get what you want.”
With much of the current grid standing with Verstappen in terms of the current regulations, it remains to be seen whether some sort of solution can be agreed that will please the drivers, and keep Verstappen from seeking new challenges elsewhere.
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