Racing
© Eterna
Jenson Button believes Max Verstappen would not take a sabbatical from Formula 1 if he decides to step away, but would instead leave the series for good.
Speaking on Sky Sports F1, the 2009 Formula 1 world champion said he does not see a temporary break fitting Verstappen’s approach. “Personally, it doesn’t feel like he’s the sort of guy who wants to take a sabbatical,” Button said. “He’s either racing or he’s not.”
That view comes as Verstappen’s future has become a growing talking point amid his dissatisfaction with Formula 1’s 2026 regulations and Red Bull’s difficult start to the season. Verstappen has been openly critical of the new rules, particularly the near 50-50 split between internal combustion and battery power and the greater dependence on battery deployment to extract performance. At the same time, Red Bull has gone without a podium through the opening three rounds, an unfamiliar position for both the team and its four-time champion.
Button said that if Verstappen does decide he has had enough, he expects the break to be final rather than temporary. “If he wants to stop and go do something else, that’s fun as well,” he said. “I think this will be his last ‘career’ in F1. I don’t think he’ll take a year out and come back. I don’t think that’s the Max I’ve come to know.”
Verstappen’s long-term situation has drawn even more attention after McLaren confirmed it will sign Gianpiero Lambiase from 2028. Lambiase has been Verstappen’s race engineer since his promotion to Red Bull in 2016, making the move a significant change around the Dutchman. Button noted that “only a few weeks” before the news broke, Verstappen had said, “I can’t ever imagine racing without him by my side.”
Even so, Button stopped short of reading too much into that immediately because the change is still some way off. “But it’s 2028, it’s another two years away, so we’ll see,” he said.
What Button does expect is for Verstappen to remain the key figure in the next phase of the driver market, largely because his current situation has become so unusual. “Max is always going to be the centre of attention because he’s in a car, at the moment, that’s not performing,” Button said. “We’re used to him being at the front, and he’s not.”