McLaren told Max Verstappen would bring back Ayrton Senna’s ‘way of doing things’ if they sign him

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Former F1 driver Mark Blundell has urged McLaren to keep chasing Max Verstappen, citing the Dutchman as being able to bring an Ayrton Senna-esque approach back to the team.

Amid the ongoing dispute between Max Verstappen and his long-time employers, Red Bull Racing, McLaren have emerged as a serious candidate to acquire the four-time world champion’s talents for the 2027 F1 season.

If you were Max Verstappen, would you stay at Red Bull or move on?

Verstappen has been linked with McLaren, but could also retire or take a sabbatical

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It would mark the biggest movement in the F1 driver market since Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari, which seemingly happened overnight. Not only that, but it would see Verstappen join a team he’s been critical of in the past.

However, former McLaren driver Mark Blundell is all for the move, relishing the thought of the Dutchman going up against Lando Norris in equal machinery.

• READ MORE: Ralf Schumacher hears Red Bull are ‘falling apart’ amid a ‘breach of trust’ with Max Verstappen

Mark Blundell would love to see Max Verstappen at McLaren

During an appearance on Drive to Wynn, the three-time F1 podium-sitter was asked for his thoughts on the current rumours surrounding a possible partnership between Verstappen and the reigning world champions, McLaren.

“Would it be a bad thing for Lando to come up against Max side by side?” he asked himself, before replying, “We would have to wait and see, but we’d really get a true reflection on where they’re both at.”

He isn’t too optimistic for Norris’ chances against Verstappen though, adding, “I still feel Max Verstappen, for me, is the best all-rounder on the grid in modern day; he sits over Lewis and Alonso. If I were a team principal, Max would be number one on my list.”

However, he would be watching the teammate pairing closely. A unification between Norris and Verstappen would see the first teammate partnership between two world champions since the days of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari.

• READ MORE: Lando Norris warned Max Verstappen would ‘stop at nothing’ to give McLaren an Ayrton Senna 2.0 issue

“If something came along with Max at McLaren, I’d really be looking at that with excitement,” Blundell continued. “There could be some real fireworks.

“That would be a huge lift for McLaren as well, because I think they’d have a driver come back in who would be reminiscent of that Senna way of doing things.

“I definitely feel Max doesn’t take any punches, and he doesn’t hold back. That would invigorate McLaren well.”