Max Verstappen admits ‘never say never’ on leaving Red Bull for F1 rival

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Max Verstappen admits ‘you should never say never’ about leaving Red Bull but he is not interested in joining Ferrari ‘at the moment’ after Lewis Hamilton quit Mercedes.

The Scuderia stunned the paddock at the start of February by announcing that Hamilton will replace Carlos Sainz next year. Ferrari have awarded the 39-year-old a multi-year contract to race in red after he initiated his escape clause to leave Mercedes following the 2024 season.

Hamilton has decided to seek pastures new in Maranello after back-to-back winless years in Brackley. Last year also saw Verstappen and Red Bull record the most dominant campaign in Formula 1. The Milton Keynes team won 21 of the 22 Grand Prix, with Verstappen taking 19.

Max Verstappen admits he can ‘never say never’ to leaving Red Bull for Ferrari one day

Verstappen further recorded the most points in a Formula 1 season to date across 2023 with 575. His haul was even greater than double the points that teammate Sergio Perez scored to claim the runners-up spot. The 26-year-old obliterated the 34-year-old’s tally of 285 points.

Perez crashing with Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon while fighting for P8 in the Sprint at the Qatar GP further saw Verstappen secure his third successive drivers’ title with six Grand Prix and two Sprints to spare. Only Sainz also denied Verstappen a Grand Prix win after April.

So, given the dominance that Verstappen enjoyed in the RB19 last year, the Dutchman is not considering leaving Red Bull. But he cannot absolutely say his feelings may not change in the future. Verstappen has been a part of the Red Bull family since August 2014 at the age of 16.

“In my life, I know from my experiences so far that you should never say never,” Verstappen has admitted, via quotes by Motorsport-Total. “But, for me, it’s not even in my head now.”

Max Verstappen is ‘very happy’ at Red Bull ‘at the moment’ after Lewis Hamilton left Mercedes

Even winning six or seven titles with Red Bull first would ‘not necessarily’ tempt Verstappen to join Ferrari, either. His comments follow Hamilton deciding to walk away from Mercedes for Ferrari next year. The 39-year-old has won six of his seven F1 titles for the Brackley team.

The Dutchman continued: “I get it, it’s a nice brand that has achieved a lot in this sport. But, at the moment, my head is only with this team. That’s what I spend my time on.

“Everything else is secondary… I don’t want to sound disrespectful or anything like that. I have a lot of respect for the Ferrari brand but I’m very happy where I am at the moment. I’m comfortable in my environment, so there’s nothing for me that I want to change.”