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Max Verstappen walking away from F1 "would not be a disaster" for the sport, with bosses not likely to be concerned if the champion does quit. Former F1 team boss Guenther Steiner stressed that F1 was "too big" to be centred around one driver, mirroring comments made by George Russell.

Verstappen has been openly critical of the new F1 rules regulations, making it clear that he is seriously considering pulling out of the sport. The Dutchman has openly asked whether competing in F1 was "worth it", admitting that he was "not enjoying" things.

There are concerns that losing one of the sport's biggest stars could be a blow to F1's image, but Steiner admits he doesn't think it will matter. When asked if losing a star man would be a disaster for F1, Steiner replied: "No, I do not think so."

Speaking exclusively to Express Sport through Casino.org, the former Haas F1 team boss added: "F1 is too big. Obviously, it would be a disappointment, but it would not be a disaster. No way is it a disaster. Somebody else will come up and replace Max, because it's such a big sport, obviously there will be a lot of stories, but I do not think it will hurt F1 at all."

Verstappen is already dabbling with motorsport away from F1, competing in a series of NLS GT3 races this season. The Dutchman will compete at the iconic Nurburgring 24 Hours race on the ferocious Nordschleife circuit in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo this weekend.

He has previously expressed his desire to compete in other top-level motorsport events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Mercedes driver George Russell admitted that he was not concerned about Max's remarks, stressing that F1 would be fine if one of the sport's biggest stars left.

He previously told the media: "Formula 1 is bigger than any driver. You wouldn't want to lose Max because we all enjoy racing against Max. It's just part and parcel of Formula 1."

Russell added: "But he's achieved what most drivers dream of, which is winning a championship. He's got four of them. At the end of the day, I guess you get to a point in life...there's not really much more for him to achieve in Formula 1. He's ticked all the boxes, maybe he can go after the records."