Reigning F1 champion Max Verstappen has made his thoughts clear on the prospect of moving to oval racing in the future.
A number of F1 drivers have moved to IndyCar in the past (and vice-versa), while the Dutchman is friends with breakout Cup Series star Shane van Gisbergen, but Verstappen will not entertain any thoughts of a switch.
The Red Bull star cited safety as his primary concern, calling the risk of a high speed speedway wreck 'not worth the risk' after his trophy-laden F1 career.
Verstappen acknowledged that F1 still carries the risk of high-speed wrecks, but insisted that hitting the wall 'at 370 [kph]' on an oval is a different kind of risk than he exposes himself to 24 times a year.
Verstappen: Oval racing isn't worth it
The four-time F1 champion told the 'Pelas Pistas' podcast: "I like watching all different kinds of racing. For me, it's just that on an oval, I don't want to do it just for the risk of injury, you know, when you hit the fence.
“It's not worth it, also if you have done your stuff in Formula 1, and yeah, I mean maybe you can win more there, and I mean that would be something that I would love, but it's not worth the risk of having a really bad accident and hurting yourself really badly.
“And I know in F1 that can happen as well, but they’re hitting the wall at 370 [kph] or whatever is not something I am planning to do, but it’s sometimes not even your fault, right? Anything can happen. But to sometimes avoid a little bit of the risk, if you can, I would do that.”
He added: “If I could choose anything, like let's say if you couldn't race on four wheels or race in general, I would say Moto GP…If I had the talent. ... That is if I wouldn't succeed in anything that I do on four wheels. I mean, you have to do something.”
