Max Verstappen leaves potential Ferrari switch open - with one clear condition

Max Verstappen stressed that he would only join Ferrari if it offered a genuine chance to win, not just because of the allure of the iconic Italian team.

Verstappen has spent the entirety of his F1 career inside the Red Bull family.

While Verstappen has enjoyed great success with Red Bull, winning four consecutive F1 drivers’ titles, he will likely have to consider his future soon.

Verstappen has committed to Red Bull for 2026, announcing his intention to stay with the team ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

However, the Dutchman has been heavily linked with Mercedes over the past 12 months.

New rules, which will become effective next year, will likely significantly impact the pecking order.

The new technical regulations emphasise the power unit, which will be run on sustainable fuels next year.

Red Bull will run their own power unit for the first time in 2026, having started up Red Bull Powertrains in collaboration with Ford.

If Red Bull have another difficult season, Verstappen could be tempted to leave them and join Mercedes.

Ferrari have Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton locked down on multi-year deals.

At 40, Hamilton is the second-oldest driver on the grid, and another poor year in 2026 could tempt him into retirement.

Speaking on Thursday at Monza, Verstappen was adamant that he would only be interested in driving for Ferrari if he could win.

“I think Ferrari is a massive brand,” he said. “All the drivers, they see and they picture themselves there, ‘I would like to drive for Ferrari.’ But I think that’s also where the mistake comes, just to drive for Ferrari.

“If I would ever want to go there, I don’t go there just to drive for Ferrari, I go there because I see the opportunity to win.

“And if you win with Ferrari, that’s even better. And that’s I think where you shouldn’t let yourself get guided just because of the emotions and passion of a brand, you need to go there because you feel that is the right place to go.”

“Never going to be easy” for Hamilton

Max Verstappen was also asked about Hamilton’s struggles.

The seven-time world champion hasn’t finished on the podium in his first 15 races at Ferrari.

Verstappen acknowledged the challenge Hamilton has to go up against Leclerc, given that he’s “well integrated” at Ferrari.

“They have two drivers contracted for next year, so there is no discussion anyway,” Verstappen added.

“Now, is there a chance? Yes, there are a lot of chances in life for any kind of decision.

“Of course, at the moment that is not on the horizon, but who knows? I don’t even know how long I’m driving in Formula 1, so there are still a lot of unknowns for me.

“It’s always very difficult to know what is going to happen, right? I cannot look into how he [Hamilton] was operating at Mercedes, how he feels personally, what is going on also in the [Ferrari] team right now. I don’t have any information on that.

“The thing is, he joined a team that already has a very strong driver with Charles [Leclerc], so it’s never going to be easy to immediately go in there and start beating your teammate who is well integrated, knows the team very well, speaks the language.

“But these cars can be quite complicated at times to fully understand why you’re quick or not, basically.”