Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both believe that the sport would be poorer if Max Verstappen were to carry out his 'threat' and walk away from F1.

While the Dutchman has made no secret of his unhappiness with his car, and also the 2026 regulations, the continuing exodus of talent from the Austrian team must also be worrying him.

Though linked with a number of teams, in the short-term there are no genuine, worthwhile vacancies, therefore, should he continue to find himself at odds with his car and the regulations, it is not impossible that he could quit the sport, if only for a season or two.

While George Russell believes that this would be no great loss, the McLaren pair disagree.

"It would be a shame if that does end up happening," said Piastri. "Clearly, the Red Bull doesn't look like the most competitive car at the moment," he continued, "and while I think the regulations are being worked on, they've needed quite a lot of work and they're certainly more complex.

"It would be a shame for the sport to lose Max," he insisted, "especially at this point in his career as well. It would be a big loss for the sport as a whole. For us as drivers, we want to race against the best and try and prove ourselves against the best. Max has shown his calibre in the last ten years, and I think especially the last five or six, he's been the benchmark. For everyone it would be a pretty big shame and obviously not a great look."

"It would be a shame for the sport," added teammate Norris, "it would be a miss for the sport if that does happen. Because he probably is one of the best drivers you'll see in Formula 1 ever.

"It would be a shame for us," he continued, "because as much as he makes our lives incredibly tough at times, he's always good fun to race against and it's always cool to race against someone that's won four world championships. You always feel like you want to race against the best in the world and he certainly is one of them."

Last weekend Verstappen was taking part in the qualifiers for the upcoming 24-hour race at the Nurburgring, with GT3 or WEC increasingly appearing to be an alternative attraction for the Dutchman.

"Max has earned the right to go and do whatever he wants," said Norris. "He's won four world championships and he's always been that guy, it's not just now. He's always been very open to say what he thinks, whether you agree or not or whether you should say it or shouldn't. He's himself and I think that's a very good way to live your life.

"It would be a loss for the sport," he continued, "but to be honest, I also enjoy watching all the GTs on the weekend. If it gives me something to go watch and watch him in other categories, that's also a good thing for me.

"It would be a shame. But he's also driven some of the best cars that you see. I think it's relative for the people because when you see the new guys who are coming and this is their first year in Formula 1, everyone is like, 'Yeah, these cars are sick'. For the guys who have driven last year's cars and for some of the previous ones, of course we have something to compare against. It's still kind of relative for everyone, but hopefully things get better."

Insisting that he is not interested in breaking records, Verstappen has also made clear that he has no desire to race into his forties like Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Nonetheless, even if he takes a year or two out of F1, Norris is convinced that Verstappen still has one ambition.

"He said he wants to win a fifth world championship at the minute, so I'm sure he'll stay longer than people say," said the 2025 world champion.