Towards the end of the 2023 season, shocking news emerged that a member of Lewis Hamilton’s entourage had contacted Red Bull team principal Christian Horner for a potential move. While the truth is yet unclear because of the contrasting stories shared by both parties, a team consisting of Hamilton and Max Verstappen is likely to be a recipe for disaster, according to former F1 driver Johnny Herbert.
According to Formula Passion, Herbert exclusively told PlanetF1, “You can’t handle it, no matter what you try to do. Even if you put them in different rooms for that weekend, you would still have problems once they put on their helmets and started their race.” Herbert simply believes you “can’t have two elite riders in the same team”.
The former Benetton driver highlighted how the Ayrton Senna-Alain Prost dynamic at McLaren exploded into a catastrophic rivalry. As biblical as it may seem to have two champion drivers in a team, competitiveness will always breed controversy and chaos, and Hamilton and Verstappen are no strangers to such situations.
Lewis Hamilton has denied claims from Christian Horner that his team reached out about driving for Red Bull earlier this year pic.twitter.com/orMkq3ssGB
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) November 23, 2023
The ego clashing between champions like Senna and Prost or Hamilton and Verstappen is very difficult to manage. So, Horner may face a difficult situation as Ron Dennis did with Fernando Alonso and Hamilton in 2007 at McLaren.
While Red Bull may not be interested in having both Hamilton and Verstappen on the same team, the Dutchman did share his thoughts about the possibility of having the Briton as a teammate.
Where does Max Verstappen stand on having Lewis Hamilton as a teammate?
Max Verstappen unequivocally defied a team-up with Lewis Hamilton. He stated after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that “it would never work anyway.”
The Dutchman highlighted as per Eurosport, “For sure we would be trying to beat each other. But I think it’s also good to have us on different teams. For me, the important thing is that our rivals make sure they’re competitive enough to battle it out.”
Christian Horner has ruled out a move for Sir Lewis Hamilton to join Red Bull, with the Briton’s contract at Mercedes expiring at the end of the season ✍️❌ pic.twitter.com/rR7vorQtry
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 23, 2023
Verstappen also would prefer for Hamilton to come back to winning ways with Mercedes. He feels it will make the sport more exciting as there will be more than one car in contention for the title. In stark contrast to Verstappen, Hamilton has expressed his wish to race against the Dutchman on the same team.
However, this may seem like desperation on the Briton’s part because of not having a competitive car in the last two years. Since he too knows that such a scenario could be unlikely, Hamilton is keen to help the Silver Arrows return to form.
