"Is it worth it?" says Max Verstappen, as he admits to thinking about walking away from the sport.

A long-time critic of the rules overhaul, long before they'd actually been put into practice, Verstappen has made no secret of the fact that he is unhappy.

Though his doubts about Red Bull's 'home grown' engine have proven, for the most part, to be incorrect, a combination of the new rules and a car he finds undrivable, have left him considering his future.

Dutch publication, De Telegraaf, which is known to have sources close to the four-time world champion, has claimed he could walk away from F1, and talking to the BBC post-race today, the Red Bull driver admitted that it has crossed his mind.

"I'm thinking about everything inside this paddock," he said. "Privately I'm very happy. You also wait for 24 races. This time it's 22. But normally 24. And then you just think about is it worth it? Or do I enjoy being more at home with my family? Seeing my friends more when you're not enjoying your sport?"

Pushed a little harder, the Dutchman insists that it isn't his car that is causing him to doubt his future, but the rules overhaul of which he has long been a critic.

"I can easily accept to be in P7 or P8 where I am," he said. "Because I also know that you can't be dominating or be first or second or whatever, fighting for a podium every time. I'm very realistic in that and I've been there before. I've not only been winning in F1.

"But at the same time when you are in P7 or P8 and you are not enjoying the whole formula behind it, it doesn't feel natural to a racing driver," he added. "Of course I try to adapt to it, but it's not nice the way you have to race. It's really anti-driving.

"Then at one point, yeah, it's just not what I want to do," he admitted. "Of course, you can look at it and make a lot of money. Great. But at the end of the day it's not about money any more because this has always been my passion."

Though disqualified after winning last weekend's GT3 race at the Nurburgring, later this year he will contest the Nurburgring 24-Hours, while he has made no secret of his desire to race at Le Mans.

"As a kid this is what I wanted to do and back then I had no idea what I was going to achieve and how much money you make," he said. "You never think about that as a kid. And it's also not about that.

"I want to be here to have fun and have a great time and enjoy myself. At the moment that's not really the case. Of course I do enjoy certain aspects. I enjoy working with my team. It's like a second family. But once I sit in the car it's not the most enjoyable unfortunately.

"I'm trying," he insisted. "I keep telling myself every day to try and enjoy it. It's just very hard. I have a lot of other projects anyway that I have a lot of passion about. The GT3 racing. Not only racing it myself but also the team. It's really nice and fun to build that. And I really want to build that out further in the coming years.

"It's not like if I would stop here that I'm not going to do anything. I'm always going to have fun. I will have fun in a lot of other things in my life. But it's a bit sad to be honest that we're even talking about this. It is what it is. You don't need to feel sorry for me. I'll be fine."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Chester, 4 hours ago

"Verstappen speaks truth to power because he can. A rare person in today's world. "

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2. Posted by Spindoctor, 5 hours ago

"It's hard not to be disappointed by what seems to be his attitude. Assorted truly great drivers, Vettel, Alonso, Schumacher to name but a few have endured periods of driving rubbish cars.without expramification of their toys. Lewis drove "undrivable" cars for the whole Ground Effect era.

"

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Verstappen talks of quitting F1

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