Max Verstappen is considering retiring from Formula One at the end of the season, saying regulation changes have caused him to stop enjoying the sport.

Verstappen has endured a miserable start to the 2026 campaign, which continued this weekend as he finished a lowly eighth at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Dutchman, who had won each of the previous four stagings of the race at Suzuka, was sixth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and retired in China in week two.

He has been highly critical of the impact engine rule changes have had on the sport, despite others – including Lewis Hamilton – favouring the new style of racing.

The sport's new power units place a greater emphasis on electrical power, necessitating that drivers choose moments to recharge and boost power during races, while the 2026 cars are also lighter and more nimble than their predecessors to facilitate more wheel-to-wheel racing.

Verstappen has compared F1's new look to Mario Kart and described it as "Formula E on steroids", and he now says the changes could prompt him to step away.

Asked if he could turn his back on F1 in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live after Sunday's race, Verstappen said: "That's what I'm saying. 

"I'm thinking about everything inside this paddock. Privately, I'm very happy. You also wait for 24 races per year. This time it's 22. But normally it's 24. 

"And then you just think, '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?"

Tried everything to push into the points #F1 || #JapaneseGP  pic.twitter.com/IJmdZwyIuK

— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 29, 2026

The 28-year-old, who won four successive drivers' championships from 2021 to 2024, insists his disillusionment is not due to Red Bull's lack of competitiveness.

"I can easily accept to be in P7 or P8, where I am, because I also know that you can't be dominating or be first or second or whatever, fighting for a podium every time," Verstappen added.  

"I'm very realistic about 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.

"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.

"And 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 anymore, because this has always been my passion.

"You hear from a lot of sportspeople: 'How are you successful?' It all starts with actually enjoying what you're doing, before you can actually commit to it 100%.

"Now I think I'm committing 100%, and I'm still trying, but the way that I am telling myself to give it 100%, I think, is not very healthy because I am not enjoying what I'm doing.

"And now people can easily say, 'Yeah, well, you've won so many championships and races and now just because the car is not good, you are complaining.' Maybe you can see it like that, but I see it differently."

F1 now enters a month-long break due to the cancellation of races in the Middle East, with the season resuming in Miami on the first weekend of May.