Max Verstappen pressured that he would solely be a part of Ferrari if it supplied a real probability to win, not simply due to the attract of the long-lasting Italian crew.
Verstappen has spent everything of his F1 profession contained in the Purple Bull household.
Whereas Verstappen has loved nice success with Purple Bull, profitable 4 consecutive F1 drivers’ titles, he’ll probably have to contemplate his future quickly.
Verstappen has dedicated to Purple Bull for 2026, asserting his intention to stick with the crew forward of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Nonetheless, the Dutchman has been closely linked with Mercedes over the previous 12 months.
New guidelines, which can change into efficient subsequent yr, will probably considerably affect the pecking order.
The brand new technical rules emphasise the ability unit, which will likely be run on sustainable fuels subsequent yr.
Purple Bull will run their very own energy unit for the primary time in 2026, having began up Purple Bull Powertrains in collaboration with Ford.
If Purple Bull have one other troublesome season, Verstappen could possibly be tempted to go away them and be a part of Mercedes.
Ferrari have Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton locked down on multi-year offers.
At 40, Hamilton is the second-oldest driver on the grid, and one other poor yr in 2026 may tempt him into retirement.
Talking on Thursday at Monza, Verstappen was adamant that he would solely be concerned about driving for Ferrari if he may win.
“I believe Ferrari is an enormous model,” he mentioned. “All of the drivers, they see and so they image themselves there, ‘I want to drive for Ferrari.’ However I believe that’s additionally the place the error comes, simply to drive for Ferrari.
“If I might ever wish to go there, I don’t go there simply to drive for Ferrari, I am going there as a result of I see the chance to win.
“And should you win with Ferrari, that’s even higher. And that’s I believe the place you shouldn’t let your self get guided simply due to the feelings and fervour of a model, it is advisable to go there since you really feel that’s the proper place to go.”
“By no means going to be straightforward” for Hamilton
Max Verstappen was additionally requested about Hamilton’s struggles.
The seven-time world champion hasn’t completed on the rostrum in his first 15 races at Ferrari.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton
Verstappen acknowledged the problem Hamilton has to go up towards Leclerc, provided that he’s “nicely built-in” at Ferrari.
“They’ve two drivers contracted for subsequent yr, so there is no such thing as a dialogue anyway,” Verstappen added.
“Now, is there an opportunity? Sure, there are loads of probabilities in life for any sort of determination.
“In fact, in the intervening time that isn’t on the horizon, however who is aware of? I don’t even understand how lengthy I’m driving in System 1, so there are nonetheless loads of unknowns for me.
“It’s all the time very troublesome to know what will occur, proper? I can’t look into how he [Hamilton] was working at Mercedes, how he feels personally, what’s going on additionally within the [Ferrari] crew proper now. I don’t have any info on that.
“The factor is, he joined a crew that already has a really sturdy driver with Charles [Leclerc], so it’s by no means going to be straightforward to right away go in there and begin beating your teammate who’s nicely built-in, is aware of the crew very nicely, speaks the language.
“However these automobiles may be fairly sophisticated at instances to completely perceive why you’re fast or not, principally.”
