Verstappen hints at LEAVING F1 as champ slams 'silly' rules

Red Bull star Max Verstappen has hinted that he could leave F1 early due to 'silly' rules being implemented by the FIA - the sport's governing body.

At the Singapore Grand Prix, the FIA announced that Verstappen would have to serve the equivalent of F1 community service for swearing in Friday's press conference.

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The FIA’s decision was met with hostility across the paddock, most notably from Verstappen who has a history of delivering x-rated team radio messages to his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

Fellow F1 stars such as Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris even spoke out in support of Verstappen after the punishment.

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Max Verstappen threatens to quit F1

In protest of his punishment, Verstappen attended Saturday’s post-qualifying press conference but refused to answer questions from the press, and only produced monosyllabic phrases stating he would address the media outside.

His rebellion also extended into Sunday’post-racece conference, where he again spoke to the media separately but this time hinted the FIA’s ‘silly’ rules could prompt him to exit the sport entirely.

"These kinds of things definitely decide my future as well when you can't be yourself or deal with these silly things," Verstappen said to the media at the Singapore GP.

"I'm at the stage of my career where you don't want to be dealing with these things all the time.

"Of course, it's great to have success and win races but once you have accomplished all that, winning championships and races, you just want to have a good time as well.

"Everyone in the paddock is pushing, even at the back of the grid. But if you have to deal with all these kinds of silly things, for me, that is not a way of continuing in the sport, that's for sure."

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