The Toyota Grand Highlander is a bigger Toyota SUV with three rows of seats. The ad is saying the back seats are actually comfortable enough for adults, not just kids.
This is the setup that lets passengers in the back watch movies or listen to audio. It’s meant to make long drives easier for kids and other passengers.
The Japanese Grand Prix is one of the races in the Formula One season. The hosts mention what Verstappen said after that race as part of why they’re discussing his future.
Fernando Alonso is a veteran F1 driver known for long-term competitiveness and multiple championship eras. His career longevity is frequently cited when discussing how driver retirements could reshape the sport’s identity and storylines.
Lewis Hamilton is one of F1’s most successful and recognizable drivers, and his late-career stage is often discussed in terms of how it affects the sport’s star power. When multiple top drivers approach retirement, it can change the competitive landscape and fan narratives.
The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany. It’s famous for being challenging, and the hosts bring it up to show Max does more than just F1.
A world championship in F1 refers to winning the drivers’ title (and/or the team’s constructors’ title) based on points across the season. The hosts note that Verstappen may not be motivated by chasing every record and championship.
The FIA is the organization that makes and enforces the rules for motorsport, including Formula 1. If someone wants regulation changes, they’re usually asking the FIA to update the rulebook.
A bargaining chip is something you use to get what you want. Here, it means whether Max’s potential retirement could pressure the sport to change the rules sooner.
Mercedes is a top-tier F1 constructor known for strong engineering and frequent championship contention. In this segment, it’s referenced as another team Verstappen would rather be battling for wins against.
Formula 1 is the highest level of open-wheel racing. Drivers race very advanced cars under strict rules, and how competitive the car is can make a huge difference to how much they enjoy it.
“Wins” are the ultimate result in F1 and reflect both driver skill and the car’s ability to execute race pace, strategy, and tire management. The segment frames wins/podiums as the driver’s emotional driver for staying motivated.
“Retirement” means a driver deciding to stop racing in F1. In this conversation, it depends on whether they’re still having fun and getting good competition.
Sim racing is competitive driving using racing simulators, often with realistic physics, force feedback, and online competition. The segment notes that Max treats sim racing with the same seriousness as real F1, highlighting how drivers can stay sharp and motivated off-track.
Team radio is the in-race communication between the driver and the team. It’s how the team tells the driver what to do and how the driver reports what the car is doing.
The Dakar Rally is a long-distance off-road endurance event, famous for extreme navigation and vehicle durability. Mentioning Dakar suggests Verstappen could pursue high-adventure, endurance-style motorsport after F1 rather than only traditional circuit racing.
Suzuka Circuit is a well-known Japanese track, famous for its unique layout and high-speed sections. The hosts connect Verstappen’s Super GT driving to Suzuka, implying he’s raced on one of Japan’s most iconic circuits.
GT racing is a type of motorsport where cars are based on real, road-going models. The idea here is that Verstappen could still race in other categories even if he retired from F1.
That means trying to pass someone by taking the wider line around the outside of a corner. It’s a bold move that only works if you can brake and turn in confidently.
“Daring moves” refers to aggressive, high-risk overtakes that rely on confidence, tire grip, and the ability to exploit gaps. The speaker connects these moves to driver enjoyment and suggests current energy/power constraints reduce how often they can be attempted.
All-wheel drive means the car can send power to multiple wheels. That can help it grip the road better when conditions are slippery.
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Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the P1 Podcast with Matt and Tommy.
It is time for one of many podcasts over this spring break of Formula One that we are currently in.
And this is a big topic.
This is something to really deep dive and discuss,
because there is a genuine possibility that Max Verstappen retires.
From Formula One at the end of this year, lots of quotes, lots of things that he said after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Tommy, talk to me.
Big Max fan, of course, that you are, and you're a pessimist as well.
So do I even dare to ask whether he's retiring?
Look, it's maybe no surprise that he's not happy.
We'll talk into why.
There's many reasons, but he's obviously not enjoying Formula One at all.
And yeah, after Japan, he did a quite insane interview to BBC,
where he really opened up and talked about whether it was worth it.
And also the talk in the Dutch media, who are obviously very close to him and know him personally,
saying that this is a really strong possibility now, and he's really considering it.
Which is concerning for a lot of Max fans around the world, you included.
And I think should be concerning in general, you know, whether you like Max or not,
I think to lose Verstappen out of Formula One would be a big shockwave out of that.
It would just be a proper, I think, negative for the sport.
When you have the legends like Hamilton and Alonso getting towards the end of their career as well,
could well leave Formula One in a very interesting state when you lose big characters that, you know,
I know it's only a sport, but it also is a bit of a pantomime as well,
where you have your villains, you have your people you support and people you don't support,
and we might lose some of that character within the sport if Max does decide to go.
Yeah, it's a massive character. I mean, just look at last year,
and you know, we've said it so many times, how not, well, probably quite boring.
Last season would have been without Max Verstappen and what he did,
and whether you love him or hate him, he is an amazing character in the sport,
and he makes Formula One more exciting, whether you enjoy the way he races or not,
you can't deny that the way he goes about his racing is what makes Formula One so exciting,
and it would be a massive loss even if you're not a Max fan.
Well, maybe, I don't know, maybe if you don't actually like him, you might not be too bothered,
but I think there will be a lot of people that care, especially those that came out last year as
not particularly liking him, and then at the end going, you know what, I don't mind Max.
That those people will also miss Max Verstappen. Now, he's of course told the BBC as well,
that he's not enjoying the whole Formula, and that you just think about whether it's worth it.
He's said that he's basically questioned whether he would enjoy being more at home with his family,
of course he's had a kid recently, and also whether you're seeing his friends more
would be better than the sport that he clearly isn't enjoying. Now, the question I think
we need to answer first, if we can, is do we think he's actually serious? So for me,
I think he is being serious. I think Max is never afraid to be vocal about how he's feeling.
Whether he would walk away is another step. You can be serious, you can say I'm very much
contemplating leaving, but actually throwing in the one thing that you've worked all your life for,
you clearly loves as well. There's no denying here. We're not sat here going,
I'm actually here for the money. He'll stay for that, or we know the reasons why he is
where he is today. It's because he loves motorsport, and he's done things at the Nürburgring,
and we know that he has ideas and plans to do more endurance racing, and so on and so forth.
So he loves motorsport, and he loves Formula One to the core. That's why I think he's being so vocal.
Do I think he's serious that he will retire? I think yes. I think that he would take that step
considering his family circumstances and everything else. That's not to say he wouldn't come back if
F1 sorted their life out. I think that would also be a consideration for him, but I think he's very
much in a case right now in his life where he doesn't want to waste it, and if he genuinely
isn't enjoying it, then he can walk away. Absolutely. I do think he is very serious about this.
He's been very vocal even before these regulations came in and the season that he's had so far about
how he's not going to stick around in Formula One forever. He doesn't care that much about
trying to get every record under the sun and win eight world championships, so he can be the
statistical greatest of all time. At the end of the day, he's sacrificed a lot. He's very
honest about the sacrifices that his family have made and everything.
These drivers for this amazing life that they have, it's hard to feel too sorry for them because
they're driving Formula One cars and they're jet-setting all over the world and they're making
a fortune, but they do have to sacrifice a lot of life to be in that position. Now he's had
a kid, he's now questioning, do I want to do this? At the end of the day, while it's maybe
insane for us to think it as a job, it is his job. If the only thing that is satisfying about your
job, and this is the case for a lot of Formula One drivers, is the thing they like the most,
is driving a Formula One car and going racing because they certainly don't like traveling
all over the world. They don't like sitting and talking to the journalists and everything else
and they're always complaining about how there's too many races, they don't like the media or
all this kind of stuff, but it's worth it for that adrenaline rush and the satisfaction they get
driving a Formula One car. So if he doesn't enjoy driving a Formula One car, it's understandable
that he's like, what's the point? So I do think he is serious about it because he loves motorsport
through and through and he clearly does not enjoy this and there's so many other ways for him to
enjoy himself. Now this next question is probably the biggest one of all. It comes from P1 Patreon
member Lumixion. Is Max potentially using this as a bargaining chip to try and force the FIA
to change the regulations sooner? I think this just kind of comes hand in hand with how he's
feeling at the moment. Max, I don't believe, is trying to use his position to make change.
I think if it comes because of how vocal he's being, then that's great, but I think that Max
is also very realistic that they can't just change these regs with a clicky of fingers.
There's been a huge commitment from massive manufacturers to create these fundamentally
flawed but still very expensive Formula One cars. So to expect any change before, I would say, a few
years from now, it would be delusional. So I think there's only so far that Max Verstappen
saying he's going to leave will actually make change. There can be tweaks and maybe we can get
to a point where we actually, as a collective, like the cars and the battery, there's less
reliance on that. There's less discrepancies in power and we kind of lean more towards the
internal combustion engine again. I'm sure there are ways in which to make that impact smaller,
the battery side of things, but I'm also quite, I'm not a technical guy, but I'm quite reluctant
to think that there is a miracle cure to this when you hear about how the cars are made,
like what they're actually made up of, that there will have to be big changes within that
to maybe get to where the formula that Max loves is.
I don't think it's his way of bargaining because I think knowing Max Verstappen,
he is just a straight talking person and he's super honest and he just says what he thinks
and that's why a lot of people either love him or don't like him because of the way he just says
what he thinks and I don't think a lot of the time what he is saying and his kind of honest
perception of life is for any politics. If there's one thing Max doesn't do, it's the politics in
the sport. He just wants to drive cars, not even just Formula One cars, he just wants to drive in
motor sport and have a lot of fun and that's what he lives and breathes. That's why he's on the simulator,
the second the race finishes or he's gone off to the Nurburgring now and done some more driving
and he's doing like fun media days with Red Bull doing more driving and things like that.
I really don't think, I think you're looking too much into it if you think it's some kind of like
political power play from Max because I genuinely don't think that's his kind of style or his character,
he's just honest and he doesn't like the sport and that's what he's saying. I don't like it and
he's been like that from day one really saying he doesn't like it and now he doesn't want to do it
anymore because he doesn't enjoy it. He's been on about this since day minus one before we even had
these cars roll out. In 2023 he was saying these cars look very different and pretty bad and alas,
Max was right. Question from P1Patreon member TVR Driver Roll. Would Max be thinking about
retirement if the Red Bull car was competitive? Now this is obviously from face value, you'd look
at this and go, oh well, this is the year that he's not got a good car and he's throwing his toys out
the pram and he doesn't want to be in Formula One anymore but as you just said there, Max Verstappen
has been a day one hater of these regulations and I've got the quote here. This was in July 2023
when of course midway through 2023 he was winning everything and he was having a great time
and was very competitive at the top of his game winning all the races and he said
I've been talking about it with the team as well and I've seen the data already in the simulator,
it looks pretty terrible. I don't know what it is like four or five hundred meters before the end of
the straight you have to downshift because it's faster. I think that's not the way to go. Now I
remember hearing that quote thinking there's no way when we get to 2026 they're going to be downshifting
on the straight to go because it's faster and here we are, it's happening. So if they're back to
kind of the original question, if they're not listening to him when he made these points in 2023
are they going to listen to him now? Probably not and it's also too far gone. So there's a level of
yes of course he doesn't want to be racing an Alpine and spending the whole race
stuck behind Gasly but we've seen other drivers up and down the grid quite vocal you know.
Charles Leclerc is saying he absolutely despises qualifying and it's an effing joke and he's
more competitive than ever so it's not like we're seeing only the drivers at the top are loving it
and all that the other drivers are hating it. I think he would genuinely be this vocal anyway
even if he was winning and of course it doesn't help the fact that the Red Bull car is not very
good and is probably making the enjoyment even less but I do think he would be the same even if
Red Bull were in that mix fighting for wins with Ferrari and Mercedes and McLaren.
I'm in complete agreement I think that Max has shown evidence that he hated these
these even the thought of the regs before they even came. I also can't believe that the that we're
after three years of knowing that this kind of downshifting on the straight into 130R wherever
it might be that was predicted to happen in the simulators and we're still here in 2026 and that
is the case that then leads me back to what I was previously saying about I don't think there is a
miracle solution here where the regulations you know we wake up one day we go to Miami and oh my
god they've done it they've removed the battery and Audi is really upset you know that it's formula
one's gone so far down the path of pleasing manufacturers that we've lost a bit of the
soul of the sport especially I mean I was going to say especially Saturday also Sunday I would say
it to some regard especially what we saw at Japan in the previous race weekend
there is a human element to this for Max. Hamilton was an interesting one in China
saying I was absolutely loving loving Racing Wheel to Wheel with Charles you know brilliant to watch
I think if Max was having that fighting for podiums fighting for wins there would be
a better feeling from Max just overall but that being said I think he would be saying
exactly the same things but just with a slight more smile on his face because he's fighting for
podiums and wins I think that's just you know they're all insanely competitive to a level
which none of us will ever understand as elite sportsmen so I don't think his opinion would
change but he'd be slightly happier I think going about his day-to-day job and then perhaps maybe
not considering retirement at the as soon as the end of this year I would say.
It's interesting though that Lauren Meckies is now command and kind of not dismissed it but kind of
his quotes where I'm sure he'll be much happier when we give him a competitive car which you know
kind of goes against what we've just been saying there where I think he's just very unhappy with
the rules and everything that's going on because what people probably can't understand
and will find it insane because you know if you're a Formula 1 elitist and of course it is the most
popular sport where all the money is and all the fame and all the fortune Max does not care about
that at all and if he can get more satisfaction driving at the Nurbegring in a GT car he doesn't
care that it's not the pinnacle of motorsport of course he'd love to be in Formula 1 but I genuinely
think that he will you know have a much more fun doing that and and we see it you know he he takes
his sim racing and stuff just as serious as Formula 1 to the point where you know we were
having this whole debate of should he be doing it two o'clock in the morning when he's got a Formula
1 race the next morning and that's who he is and I do think that a lot of it is just because he
wants to enjoy driving because that's that's the buzz that he gets and Max is the old school Formula
1 fan as a driver essentially so it's not really a surprise that he is the most you know he's the
one that's slandering Vegas and stuff when it's on the calendar and all these sanitized circuits
and things he's always been very vocal about that he was vocal about Vegas and all of a sudden he
liked Vegas and I don't know where the switch up was there um I think it was maybe when he won
but uh that that I don't know if it's the best example because I do recall him slandering them
and then being like oh Vegas baby or something I was like wait is it Viva Las Vegas I didn't
necessarily think that means he likes it but no well just a team radio it's a positive
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let's now go to a question from p1 picture remember karen mega does f1 need to change
to keep max in the sport well we don't have a regulation change until 2031 i believe although
i for some reason i just randomly hear broadcasters say it's in three years time i don't know what i've
missed but i felt like there's no changes happening until 2031 that's my understanding of it and
he goes ferociously writing on his keyboard but i think that well one one thing needs to change
the rebel becomes competitive and max can enjoy his data day a little bit better and also max maybe
just needs to i don't know it's so tough because the first two races there were there was good
racing in it like i did enjoy the side by side action and stuff like that and if he's involved
in that for the lead for the podiums maybe but i think as you mentioned he's an old school racer
he fundamentally hates how the cars are built so i don't think he's going to change in that
in that opinion so to answer your question i think yes not to the extreme of which we need to
rip out the engines and put a v10 and sustainable fuels in but i think if we can get away from how
reliant they are on the batteries right now then maybe max will see it out for a few more years
i think there's the side to it i kind of feel is that it's not even just a max for stappen thing
here i think it's quite clear that the drivers aren't being listened to and they're very unhappy and
that's something that a lot of the drives have been vocal about and saying oh it doesn't matter
what we say because they're not changing things and formula one needs to do need to listen to the
drivers it's this balancing act isn't it about formula one in general anyway about money oh not
even just drivers and entertainment because we've had the we've had the debate of if the drivers
don't like the rate like oh we can't fly into corners and got infinite grip and actually they've
got a say like uh they're they're struggling for for grip and downforce and things we've kind of
been on this idea of well actually i don't care that they're not rocket ships around the corners
as long as we have exciting racing we kind of want to see more of that so it's a it's a
balancing act that they need to take what max is saying seriously they can't completely dismiss it
and it'd be a massive loss to lose you know a four-time champion other drivers are very vocal and
i don't think would do the same in walking away i think max could do that because he's achieved
everything he wants to and genuinely would just happily spend time with his family and go do
Nurburgring races and whatever he likes so he's kind of in that very powerful position
so they do need to take what he's got seriously um but they also need to be careful not to just
completely you know go 180 just to impress one driver there's they need to listen to
collectively what they say and make smart choices i think yes and i don't know whether these
regulations have been a smart choice so far um it feels very money oriented in my opinion what
we've seen so far in 2026 because who genuinely who sat there looked at these rules and went
sign it off this looks like fantastic racing to me i like the fact we can downshift on the
strokes true yes the Mercedes team boss where they are dominating uh question from p1 patreon
member ricky's new inters will max stay in the red bull family for the potential to come back
once f1 returns to its former glory maybe but then i think when he retires i think he will
just go could you see him doing a michael shoe american coming back when he's older i don't
okay could you i don't i don't know i think he would if he retired too early i think he'd
miss it too much maybe it depends because i guess he'd still be quite young when the regulations
did change in 2031 and if it was worth it i could see him staying in that red bull family
anyway because it opens up the options for him to do different things like i don't know like
Dakar and endurance racing and loads of like cool fun things because you know he's been
doing all sorts with red bull recently he drove a super gt car around uh was it suzuka i don't know
which which track it was i think it was suzuka um but but drove a super gt car uh and he gets to do
all these cool things and has fun driving so i could see him staying with red bull kind of on
this question excuse me i know i'm gonna start breaking down eventually it's finally happened
on this uh on this question i do feel like the Mercedes thing is like off the table now
i really can't see it happening at all and i think particularly and maybe this is this is
kind of getting a bit political but how much toto and Mercedes are very pro regulations
i don't think max would suit that kind of narrative and i couldn't see max going there
now personally i think it would be too jarring and i feel like that isn't going to happen now i
could just see him either staying with red bull or just yeah retiring and keeping the red bull
ties and just sort of doing some other fun racing with red bull that goes over his car like he has
in gt racing and things yeah i mean he loves red bull doesn't he he is part of who he
has become as a formal one driver the amount of time he's spent with him since he was well
i mean he joined f1 and when he was 17 wasn't he uh so i think that he doesn't need to stay in a
particular family doesn't need to keep ties with red bull if he left at the end of this year and
wanted back in 2029 when they've ripped the regulations up and they've announced v10 sustainable
fuels he can go wherever he wants even with two or three year hiatus he could go almost anywhere
that he wants and that's just the max forstappen effect in my opinion so it is but i think it's
the fact that the red bull have supported his you know sim racing team and him doing gt racing
that also is his extra ventures let's be real like that i i think
maybe not for arie but i mean yeah exactly uh but i think most teams would bend over
backwards to have max in their team but uh yeah i think that it's a good point about the Mercedes
thing i the pro regulation point is i mean if the if the regs change then it won't really matter
all too much will it as to whether or not max hates them but yeah i think he will probably see
out his career at red bull i'd love to see him go to another team i really would i think it would
be such an interesting story to see him go to a someone else's backyard to see just how how good he
would be at a Ferrari or a Mercedes but we'll have to wait and see that is it um tommy you look like
you were searching for something you were i was just i was trying to find the recent
quotes from tato wolf about uh about formula one because he said it's pure and very exciting
races so you know it doesn't it doesn't match what what max is saying which is why i just feel
like that whole thing isn't going to work now and it's an insane thing to say and i and some people
go absolute rubbish and i can understand but i do genuinely think that if you like max would still
be unhappy with the regulations even if you gave him a Mercedes tomorrow obviously he'd probably
enjoy it a lot more because he's fighting at the front of course he would of course he would but
he doesn't enjoy you know the battery management side of formula one and and the whole regulation
set and that is the the one thing that is the best part being a formula one driver is the driving
so if you don't like that you've not not really got anything so i can understand why he does want
to just spend time with family he's not got anything is he poor max for stappen no it's
absolutely nothing he doesn't like the driving oh poor guy honestly my heart bleeds for him
now it's uh yeah if you're there for one thing and that one thing isn't delivering for you then
why would you stay it's like any job that you if you if you're not enjoying your your job and that
the one thing you like about your job you're not gonna i can remember something like that about
seven years ago right thank you everybody thank you for tuning in we really appreciate you and
tommy final thoughts please final thoughts uh i hope there's a compromise i think
obviously i'm going to say this but formula one would be a lot worse off without um you know max
has tappen in it he's an exciting driver but even at the same time you know we're not we're not
getting to see the good side of max in these regulations anyway the reason i supported him
in the first place was because he could make these daring moves and going around the outside of
blanchamon but when you know you're you can't do that because it's not the right way to charge the
battery um it's it's not what we're seeing the best out of him so at the end of the day if he
wants to go then so be it but i'll be gutted i was going to say the so be it was not heartfelt in
the slightest you want him to stay more than anything yeah just be real with it max don't
leave please uh we need you in formula one and uh yeah that is it let us know your thoughts
will he leave will he stay and uh will you leave or stay will you continue watching
everyone as well as probably a good thing i hope people continue watching formula one but
i can also i've been seeing viewing figures and things circulating about things dropping and
yes uh formula one have to do something not just for max for stappen but for all of us yeah because
it's not just max saying it is it i mean this this will go we are going to do a deep a deep
dive into the regulations and thoughts more about it which we can i'm sure rant for another
four hours about it so i will zip it and save it for the next podcast yeah shut it tommy right
that is it thank you everybody see you soon lots of love bye goodbye
p1 is a stack production and part of the a cast creative network
dear crew it's toyota with an adult-sized third row everyone's welcome in the grand highlander
from sports fans to eco buffs and movie fans sink back in the sienna with an available rear
seat entertainment system slip into the rav 4 with available all-wheel drive and let's go
toyota find yours at toyota.com toyota let's go places
About this episode
Matt and Tommy dig into whether Max Verstappen could retire from F1 at the end of this year after his unusually blunt comments following Japan. They argue he sounds genuinely serious, tied to family life and a growing dislike of the 2026-era racing format—especially the battery/energy management and how the cars force different driving habits. They debate whether he’s using retirement as leverage for regulation changes (they doubt it) and whether a competitive Red Bull would change his mind. The hosts also discuss broader driver frustration and what F1 might need to do to keep stars like Verstappen engaged.
With Max making some alarming statements about how he's not interested in racing these F1 cars, we try to answer some questions about his potential retirement. Is it a power play to force a regulation change? Would he still feel the same if he was fighting at the front? And what would F1 look like without Max Verstappen?
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