A body language expert has assessed Max Verstappen’s big revelations about his future.

Max Verstappen has claimed he is considering his F1 future (Image: Getty)

A body language expert who calls himself a ‘Human Lie Detector’ is not convinced Max Verstappen is willing to follow through on his threat to quit Formula 1. The Dutchman said after Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix that he is “thinking about everything” in terms of his future, amid his ongoing hatred for the sport’s new regulations and cars.

Verstappen has been the most vocal critic of F1’s new era of racing machines powered by engines which rely more on electrical power than ever. Drivers have found in the early rounds of the season that managing their battery levels has become one of the most important performance factors, but it is something that Verstappen in particular strongly dislikes.

The Red Bull racer, 28, has said on multiple occasions that he is not having fun behind the wheel and, at Suzuka, went as far as to suggest that the situation could lead to him walking away from F1 this season. “Is it worth it?” he asked rhetorically in a BBC radio interview, “of do I enjoy being more at home with my family, seeing my friends more, when you’re not enjoying the sport?

It remains to be seen whether this will be Verstappen’s final year in F1, though body language expert Darren Stanton thinks his latest comments are more indicative of someone having a “strop” rather than being willing to follow through. “Max Verstappen is brilliant to analyse at the moment because he is showing so many red flags – not for deception but, as you’d expect, exasperation with his situation,” he told OLBG.

“However, from looking at Verstappen’s body language at the moment, I think he is throwing his toys out of the pram. I think his comments suggesting he will quit Formula 1 are empty threats. Right now he is still in the heat of the moment with everything going on and while he feels he has legitimate reasons to be angry at the cars and regulations not being fit for purpose, at the same time he’s giving us the signals of someone having a strop.”

That is not to say, though, that Stanton thinks Verstappen will not be willing to trigger his Red Bull release clause. Despite the Dutchman’s insistence that his team’s lack of performance in the early rounds has not been a factor in his stance, Stanton is not convinced that is the case.

He added: “I don’t think it is a lie that he is thinking about quitting, but it is more likely he wants out of Red Bull than he wants out of Formula 1. After all, he would be a hot commodity for any of the top teams looking to bring in a former champion, and ultimately Verstappen wants to be winning. If he was winning, he wouldn’t be so outspoken.

“He feels on the brink because of his ego. It gives him a competitive advantage but when things are not going well, his ego means he will overcompensate by looking for problems in others around him too, and that only adds to his frustrations. They say a workman never blames his tools but in this case, that’s sort of what he’s doing, and maybe not without justification, so he’s incredibly frustrated.

“He’s experiencing massive emotional shifts… I suspect if somebody came along and gave him the right offer he would jump at the chance of a change of scenery while staying in Formula 1. The risk of him leaving Red Bull is quite credible from what I can see. Will he leave Formula 1? From what we are seeing at the moment, no.

“He’s not very good at hiding his emotions or concealing things. I don’t think he’d be a very good poker player, to put it that way. You can read Verstappen like a book. He tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, he’s very emotive and there is a petulance to him which only adds to the picture of a man reacting in the moment rather than being serious about walking away from the sport.”