Everyone at Max Verstappen’s feet
The news of Gianpiero Lambiase‘s departure from Red Bull has opened Pandora’s box of uncontrolled rumors about Max Verstappen‘s future: on the one hand, there is indeed the awareness that the Dutchman – who, among other things, directly encouraged him to accept McLaren – might sooner or later want to reunite with his friend-engineer; on the other hand, the current situation of poor competitiveness of the RB22 suggests that the four-time world champion might leave Milton Keynes to choose a team capable of guaranteeing him a more performing car, or even take a break from Formula 1 by accepting the romantic – but certainly much less lucrative – challenge of GT races or in the World Endurance Championship.
Riccardo Patrese’s opinion
Also of this opinion is Riccardo Patrese who, in an interview with BettingLounge, explained how a driver like Max Verstappen could, in his opinion, get a seat in any team of his choice: “There are many rumors but, if Max wants to change, he can do it easily. Everyone would want to have someone like him in their team so, if he wanted McLaren, certainly one of the two current drivers, perhaps Oscar Piastri, would leave. If he wanted Mercedes, George Russell would probably have to give up his place, given that Kimi Antonelli is in an excellent position for the championship”.
Not even Ferrari, moreover, is excluded from the equation: “Even if he wanted to go to Ferrari, they could probably find him a place there. Indeed, for now in Maranello they have done a good job, they are happier because the car is new and they hope to develop it in such a way as to be competitive and win. But, if they don’t succeed, then I believe that in the end a driver could pay the consequences, because the management might decide they want to change something. And this could mean trying to bring in Max Verstappen. But the trigger for any move is what he decides to do. He is the first piece of the puzzle, then everything else will move accordingly”.
