Max Verstappen is the nerve center of the upcoming driver market. The queen that could force all the other pieces to move or stay still, depending on what his next move will be.
Read more Red Bull exodus: Verstappen’s former start wizard is now Chief Engineer at Williams
Amid rumors, denials and impromptu meetings outside the Red Bull hospitality, the four-time world champion is anything but calm at this stage of the season: on one side a competitiveness of the car that struggles to find itself, on the other a team that is breaking apart step by step.
A situation that cannot but set the other top teams in motion as well, considering Verstappen’s very stature: “Max is the destabilizing element for all the top teams – said Pino Allievi in the Q&A of FormulaPassion.it (also available on YouTube) – He is for Red Bull because they haven’t understood if he wants to stay there, but I don’t think so. He is for McLaren because clearly they have a contract with Piastri for next year. But, well: if a nice Verstappen came your way, why not? He is for Ferrari because they have two very valid drivers.”
Verstappen ideal driver for Ferrari’s future
Precisely Ferrari, according to Allievi, could be an excellent solution for Verstappen as well as for the Prancing Horse itself: “Think about it carefully, Verstappen would be the ideal Ferrari driver. He is someone who wants to race every Sunday. With Amato Ferrari he could do all the touring races he wants. Then there is the WEC championship. He would like to do Le Mans, so why not? He would be the ideal man for Ferrari’s future“.
“Look, right now you can’t think about replacing Leclerc, who just signed, or Hamilton, who is going so strong. But, meanwhile, I would give him an option for 2028“.
And then there’s Wolff…
Let’s not forget Mercedes, with Toto Wolff who has long courted Verstappen despite now having a talent like Antonelli in his hands.
“It’s true that Mercedes has agreed with good Russell, but contracts are made to be broken. I’ve seen many contracts torn up from one moment to the next to make room for someone who was more interesting. Managers in Formula 1 are cynical, Wolff also owns a percentage of the team and has to think about making Mercedes win. So he’s right to think about it: you always have to think about the strongest driver. Not the strongest on the market.
If then Antonelli goes faster than Verstappen we will all be happy. But you always have to think about the best. Enzo Ferrari taught it, who took Farina and Fangio from the start even if they didn’t get along, and then always went on with one driver against the other.
Ron Dennis taught it more recently with Senna and Prost. Frank Williams taught it, who put together Mansell and Piquet who couldn’t stand each other. A team manager must always think about the best. So if I were Wolff, Vasseur or Brown, I would certainly think about Verstappen. I’d bring him home and then see what happens“.
Read more Piastri has no doubts: “Future? I know I will stay here. The rest is just noise”
