“Max [Verstappen] has turned down Mercedes”– Lewis Hamilton was never supposed to continue with Mercedes

“Max [Verstappen] has turned down Mercedes”– Ralph Schumacher reveals Mercedes were banking to hire the Red Bull superstar.

Lewis Hamilton recently signed a two-year-long contract extension with Mercedes, giving him a genuine shot at the eighth world title before he considers retiring.

However, according to the former F1 driver Ralph Schumacher, Hamilton was never supposed to sign that extension, and it only happened because Red Bull superstar Max Verstappen declined Mercedes.

”For me, that extension mainly means that Max has turned down Mercedes. I think Mercedes had put all their hopes on capturing Max for that cockpit to secure their future fully.”

That idea is now gone, and in my eyes, Lewis was the only alternative,” Schumacher told Sport Bild. Verstappen has never discarded the idea of moving away from Red Bull, but if Schumacher telling the truth, then Verstappen currently believes in his team’s project.

Down to the fight between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen

Last week, the battle between Hamilton and Verstappen took an ugly turn when a collision between the two caused the Dutch race driver to crash into the barriers.

Schumacher hopes that the two remain safe in the following close battles and opines that only the racing skill will make a champion this season, as both cars are highly even.

”Now I’m curious if Mercedes can turn it around because Red Bull still has a lot behind them and certainly hasn’t shown everything yet. It will really come down to a duel between Hamilton and Verstappen.”

“I hope nobody gets hurt. Hamilton and Verstappen remind me more and more of Senna and Prost, the way they treated each other,” concludes the German.

Now, F1’s contingent is heading to Hungary, where Red Bull seeks revenge against Mercedes, or will the latter be a victor again to regain its top spot in the championship race?