By Sara Von Kienegger

Did the “Doctor of Motorsport” really say he’s worried about Max Verstappen’s future? And now there’s even talk of a sabbatical?

A four-time world champion by the age of 27, Max clinched his first title in 2021—beating seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton—and went on to dominate the sport through 2024, winning title after title.

Growing up in Austria, the sound of burning rubber on asphalt always reminded me of home. When spring arrived, people flung their windows open. Families gathered in the farmhouse parlour. The men sat glued to the TV, the women chatted away, and the kids played—while I, for one, would sit quietly and draw.

I still remember those childhood moments vividly: the high-pitched whm whm whm of cars zooming by, echoing from the living room TV.

This weekend, all eyes are on Jeddah—the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia—as F1 fans from around the world tune in for the action.

I’ll admit it: I only got back into the sport because of the Netflix documentary. It was during my pre-COVID binge-watching phase. Helmut Marko—“the doctor,” as we Grazers like to call him—is the head of the Red Bull Driver Development Program and the man behind two world champions: Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. Unsurprisingly, he’s not a big fan of the series.

Maybe it’s because the show cast Max—already a multiple-time world champion—as the fiery young rival everyone loved to hate, all to stir up drama and boost viewership. Netflix may have mishandled the storytelling, but it undeniably brought the world of motorsport to a much broader audience.

What it didn’t capture was how genuinely kind and humble Max is—the same goes for his fiancée, Kelly Piquet, daughter of the legendary Brazilian champion Nelson Piquet. Now, she’s expecting Max’s first child. Could that be the reason behind the rumored “break year”? Personally, I think it’s nonsense.

He can absolutely embrace fatherhood and continue his reign as world champion in 2026—assuming he clinches the title again this year, of course.