With laudable performances throughout his racing career and ‘once in a generation’ talent, Max Verstappen has turned many heads towards him. So much so that, he became a hot prospect for all those who could afford his services and even enticed Ferrari to make him an offer.
Verstappen debuted in F1 with Red Bull’s junior team(Toro Rosso) in 2015, and after spending one year with them he was promoted to the main Red Bull squad in 2016. But his one year of performance as the youngest driver to compete in F1 was enough to convince the Maranello squad to poach him from under Helmut Marko’s shadow, which paid him a $650,000 salary.
Ferrari failed to do so in 2016 but recently talks about Verstappen, now a 2-time world champion, switching to Ferrari has once again hit the paddock. Although, it seems that the offer will once again get refused if the talks ever get materialize.
Max Verstappen does not rule out switching to Ferrari but has one condition
Jos Verstappen, Max’s father, made the revelation about Ferrari having approached them in 2016 to sign the Dutchman. Speaking to Gazetta after Max dedicated his 41st race win to his father, Jos said, “They [Ferrari] looked for us after the first year in F1. Now Max has everything at Red Bull, a competitive car and team, it wouldn’t make sense to change.”
This comes after Max was recently asked about his dream team and he did not rule out a move to Ferrari before the end of his career. However, Verstappen hinted that to acquire his services, the Italian squad must up their game.
🗣️ | Marko was asked about the idea if F1 had transfer fees like in football
“Well, it would be nice if Formula 1 also had such transfer fees. Although, even then, Max Verstappen would never be for sale.” pic.twitter.com/fmtPhXvLhO
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 28, 2023
Verstappen said, “I know Ferrari has an amazing history in F1 and is an amazing team to race for, but I always told myself I just want to be in the fastest car. I waited a few years to be in the fastest car and now we do have the fastest car, and that is a great feeling.”
Mercedes missed out on Verstappen while Marko concluded the deal in 20 minutes
To find a way into F1, the Verstappens even met Toto Wolff in 2014 but Mercedes could not offer an exciting enough deal and therefore missed out on signing Max.
Jos explained that while they had a serious discussion with Wolff, he thinks that the Mercedes boss had not followed Max’s karting career. Jos claims that Wolff did not know how special Max was, otherwise, he would have signed him blindfolded.
Nevertheless, the Verstappens found another way into F1 when they met Red Bull advisor Marko at the German Grand Prix. Jos revealed that Marko was already impressed by the Dutchman’s talents and told them, “Next year I want to put Max on a Toro Rosso in F1.” And the deal was done.
