‘Either go, or stop talking about it’, Brundle tells Max Verstappen to leave F1 or stop ‘boring’ comments

Sky Sports F1 pundit and former racer Martin Brundle has slammed Max Verstappen’s chorus of complaints about the 2026 regulations, telling the four-time world champion to stop the “boring” comments or leave the sport.

Verstappen continued to make headlines over the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, from ejecting a journalist during an open media session to even threatening to walk away from Formula 1 by season’s end.

Though, Brundle has now expressed his exhaustion over the ad nauseum nature of the Dutchman’s complaints and has put it to Verstappen to ‘either go, or stop talking about it’.

“Max is very unfiltered isn’t he? He always has been,” Brundle said on the latest Sky Sports F1 Show Podcast.

“And he’s talked a lot for a long time about ‘I’m not in this for a long haul, I’m not going to be around in my 40s.’

“I think it’s getting a bit boring now, what he’s saying. Either go, or stop talking about it. It is what it is, you’ve got to make the most of it.

“Nobody is indispensable in this business. I’ve seen a number of amazing people come through this sport and are no longer with us, or have moved on to do something else. The sport goes on. This goes for any of us. The minute we stop, people will be talking about who does the job next.

“There are any number of [Kimi] Antonellis, [Ollie] Bearmans, [Arvid] Lindblads out there who would do the job incredibly well for 1% of the money. The sport will just move on if Max decides to go.”

Brundle did however lament the possibility of Verstappen leaving F1, praising his generational talent and what he has achieved in the sport being four world championships and 71 race wins.

“I would hugely miss his talent, his general speed and car control is something very few people in the history of motorsport have had,” Brundle said. “It’s extraordinary.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that given Red Bull were producing their own powertrain for the first time, his management would have put in an exit clause at the end of this year to see how it goes.

“Mercedes are saying there’s no room at this inn at the moment, so I don’t quite know where he’s going to go.”

A veteran of 165 grands prix himself, Brundle even elucidated that one of his former teammates in the seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher would’ve conducted himself differently to Verstappen in the same situation.

“He’s doing quite a lot of damage meanwhile, but we all appreciate that’s how Max rock and rolls,” Brundle added.

“I’d be surprised if he really walks away from it. It’s great to be at the Nurburgring, I’ve done that — but do I think he’d just walk away from F1? No, I don’t, provided he can get a car that suits him.

“His points are brutally made, but well made that this is just wrong at the moment. But what a [Michael] Schumacher would have done is close the door, thump the desk, metaphorically get a hold of the right people by the throat and walk out with a smile and say everything’s fine.

“And then if they don’t sort it out, which we’re looking forward to in Miami, then you start going to the media. That’s just not how Max does things.”

Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until the end of 2028, but is believed to have an exit clause linked to his position in the championship standings and if he isn’t second by the summer shutdown – he is free to terminate the deal early.

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Written by

Jawad Yaqub

An eCommerce Specialist by day and reporting on F1 by night. Jawad is passionate about motorsport, having provided accredited F1 coverage for more than a decade and is a member of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association). Live blogging (almost) every grand prix too since 2014, as well as articles on the Supercars Championship. Also keen on sustainability, photography, collecting vinyl, (trying to) expertly barbeque and learning to Dad.

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