Red Bull chief reveals how Max Verstappen reacted to F1 rival Lewis Hamilton’s shock Ferrari switch
MAX VERSTAPPEN’s reaction to Lewis Hamilton’s bombshell Ferrari switch announcement has been revealed.
Red Bull ace Verstappen dethroned Hamilton as Formula One’s top dog in 2021 when he won the title in controversial circumstances in Abu Dhabi.
Since then the Dutchman has been relentless behind the wheel, putting in record-breaking back-to-back title-winning seasons.
Meanwhile, Hamilton has struggled to keep pace thanks to Mercedes falling way behind their rivals as a new era of car design was introduced.
Following two seasons of struggle, the seven-time world champion dropped the huge bombshell that he would be ending his time at Mercedes to fulfil a “childhood dream” to drive for Ferrari from 2025.
The news broadsided much of the world of F1, including the driver he will replace at the Scuderia Carlos Sainz.
Reigning champion Verstappen has not reacted publicly to the news, but has now had his reaction revealed by senior Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko.
On Verstappen’s reaction, Marko told OE24: “He was just amused.”
Ferrari driver Sainz was the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race in the 2023 F1 season.
And it was development shown in the second half of the season which Marko believes was a contributing factor to Hamilton’s decision to make the switch.
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WHO COULD REPLACE HAMILTON AT MERCEDES?
Mercedes will have a vacant seat for 2025.
Here, SunSport’s F1 correspondent Ben Hunt looks at FIVE potential candidates who could replace him and partner George Russell in the Silver Arrows.
Oscar Piastri – McLaren have sewn up Lando Norris to a new long-term contract that should (in theory) put him out of Mercedes’ reach. However, they are yet to tie down his teammate Piastri, 22. The Aussie has an excellent record and won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles before spending a year on the sidelines with Alpine and getting his chance in F1 with McLaren. He impressed on his debut season last year and has the potential to be a world champion.
Daniel Ricciardo – The experienced driver’s future remains in doubt as he bides his time at Red Bull’s B-team. Ricciardo would be low-hassle and offer some stability but by that time he would be 35. It seems unlikely that they would opt for him at this point in his career, but if he has a good season this year, he could come into the reckoning.
Kimi Antonelli – You may not have heard of the Italian, but he is mustard. Still only 17, he has won at all the junior categories and has been part of the Mercedes young driver programme since 2019. This season he has been promoted from F4 to F2, where he has been tipped to shine. A good debut season in F2 could sway Mercedes into taking a risk on him for 2025. Antonelli and his family are close to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Mick Schumacher – Wolff has always been so incredibly supportive of Schumacher and spoken highly of him, that you’d at least expect him to come into consideration. He knows the team from his role as reserve driver and consequently would get up to speed. But speed is also the problem. He was shocking at Haas and if he really was THAT good, he’d still be driving in F1.
Alex Albon – A more-sensible choice would be the London-born Albon. A great guy who is also very quick. He has a fantastic relationship with Russell and would be the low-maintenance quick partnership similar to Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas that swept to successive titles. Albon would take little convincing to join from Williams and Mercedes would not need to pay him half of the £50million they were dishing out to Hamilton.
He said: “Mercedes was overtaken by Ferrari in the second half of 2023, and McLaren was also faster.
“Maybe Hamilton noticed something that the outside world doesn’t yet know.
“That doesn’t change anything for us, except that I see it as weakening Mercedes.
“Whether it strengthens Ferrari remains to be seen. Overall, this has an incredible impact, right down to the stock market prices.”
The lights go out for the new F1 season with the first race on March 2.
Complete F1 2024 race calendar – details on every Grand Prix and start time this year