Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen has long been associated with Mercedes. Now ex-silver pilot Lewis Hamilton has commented on the Red Bull superstar, apologized for statements from the past to his racing team and recommended a move to Mercedes to the Dutch.
Is that in 2026 that driver in the Mercedes car who, the silver arrows-or more precisely Lewis Hamilton-still killed the driver’s title in the extremely controversial World Cup final 2021? Quite possible, because Max Verstappen has been intensively associated with a move to Mercedes for weeks and months.
Could that possibly become a problem? No, says Hamilton himself, who is no longer driving for Mercedes, but of course closely observes the Formula 1 driver market.
“Max didn’t do anything at the time. He did what he had to do to win,” said Hamilton in a media round after the Silverstone Grand Prix and added: “So I don’t think it was a problem.”
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When asked whether he would recommend a move to his ex-team, Hamilton said clearly: “Of course.”
The Dutchman will surely “look at the engine”, the Briton assumed and thus alluded to the fact that the Formula 1 racing team of the German car maker could say that it could have a performance advantage. “Mercedes will build a fantastic engine next year, because they are particularly strong in it. That would certainly be the largest part”, which Verstappen would take a look at, says Hamilton.
However, he was not afraid if the four-time world champion joins his ex-team, today’s Ferrari pilot emphasized. “Max is a strong opponent in every car. I don’t think too much about it.”
Hamilton: That was not an insult to Red Bull
At the same time, the record world champion also took the opportunity to praise Verstappen’s current team, Red Bull Racing, and to give himself small sound compared to earlier when it comes to evaluating the Austrian racing team.
“He comes from a great team. Many, many years ago I was asked about Red Bull Racing … I think I was just a die-hard Mercedes fan at the time, and I remember that I said something about the fact that Red Bull was just a beverage manufacturer,” he looked back at the time that was more than ten years ago.
“I always regretted it because I just wanted to say that Mercedes was great. I really only tried to port my team,” he said.
“But the truth is: Red Bull is an incredible team. There are so many extraordinary people there. They have been dominating for years,” emphasized Hamilton.