Max Verstappen hopes old rival Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 move to Ferrari will be a success and seemed excited by the prospect of seeing the seven-time world champion wearing red.
Hamilton’s bombshell move, which will happen after he finishes the final year of his Mercedes contract, has been the big story of F1’s offseason period.
– Unlapped: How to listen or watch ESPN’s F1 show
– What Hamilton’s move means for Ferrari, Mercedes and F1
Assuming he does not win in 2024 with Mercedes, Hamilton will look to win a record eighth career title with Ferrari, something Verstappen denied him from doing at the end of a bitter and controversial 2021 championship battle.
Verstappen said the team switch makes sense for a driver so accomplished.
“I was probably a bit surprised with the announcement at the time,” Verstappen told ESPN. “But if someone wants to drive for Ferrari, and especially when you have achieved already so much in your career, why not?
“Ferrari is an amazing brand, it has so much history.”
Verstappen said it is impossible to have a verdict on Hamilton’s decision without knowledge of his contract talks with both teams.
In a separate media session, he added: “We don’t know the talks that they had at Mercedes, at Ferrari, what has been promised, what they think is coming. So you can’t give an honest assessment from our side why you make that decision.
“But if he’s happy with that move, then he should go, I think it will look cool. And of course, I hope for them that it’s going to be success, but you don’t know at the moment.”
Verstappen has replaced Hamilton as F1’s dominant force and comes into 2024 having won three consecutive titles.
The talk of Hamilton’s move inevitably led to questions about whether Verstappen would ever consider the same.
Verstappen, contracted to Red Bull through to the end of 2028, downplayed the suggestion.
“I don’t want to sound disrespectful or whatever,” he said. “I mean, I have a lot of respect for the brand Ferrari, but I’m very happy where I am at the moment.
“So I’m comfortable in the environment that I’m in, so for me it’s not something that I’m looking for, to change or whatever.
“But in my life, I know from what I’ve experienced so far, I never say never with things. But for me now, it’s not even in my head. But again, it’s only Formula One. I want to do more things than Formula One, as well.”
Red Bull boss Christian Horner said Hamilton must have seen something incredibly appealing at Ferrari to walk away from a lifelong affiliation with Mercedes.
“Lewis has obviously seen something he believes in there,” Horner told ESPN. “It’s a wonderful brand, it’s a great team.
“To walk away from the relationship he’s had with Mercedes-Benz since before his time in Formula One is a big move for him, but one he’s obviously given a great deal of thought to. He’s obviously seen something he believes in at Ferrari that’s been sufficiently appealing to get him to step out of his comfort zone.”
F1’s new season starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 2.