David Coulthard names surprise option for Max Verstappen should he leave Red Bull

David Coulthard believes Max Verstappen shouldn’t consider Mercedes as an option if he leaves Red Bull. Instead, the former F1 driver says he would be a “better fit” at Ferrari.

Although Verstappen still has another two years to run on his long-term Red Bull contract, the Dutchman has been linked to rival teams, notably Mercedes, for several years.

Coulthard: Ferrari would give Max Verstappen freedom Mercedes cannot match

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Initially, it was said he would go to Mercedes, with that rumour fueled by the Brackley team’s boss Toto Wolff publicly courting him to replace Lewis Hamilton.

Then Aston Martin entered the mix when Adrian Newey, who designed every one of Verstappen’s championship-winning cars, joined the Silverstone team.

More recently, though, it has been McLaren.

Verstappen has been linked to the reigning world champions in a straight swap with Oscar Piastri, one that would see him reunite with his long-serving race engineer GianPiero Lambiase, who will join McLaren no later than 2028.

However, McLaren CEO Zak Brown ruled that out as he is more than happy with his line-up of Piastri and Lando Norris.

“I couldn’t be happier with our driver line-up,” Brown told Sky F1 in Miami. “Lando and Oscar are not only two great guys on and off the track, but also shine as teammates.”

He believes that is what “has made McLaren so successful” in recent years.

Brown  added: “I couldn’t be happier with what we have and have no intention of changing anything about it.”

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However, former W Series racer Naomi Schiff doesn’t believe Verstappen wants to leave Red Bull at all, especially after the team’s Miami Grand Prix improvements.

Red Bull struggled in the opening three weekends of the season with Verstappen eight tenths or more down on pole position.

The four-time world champion complained about his RB22, the new engine formula, and made it clear he was not enjoying life in Formula 1.

His tune in Miami, though, was a lot different.

Formula 1 tweaked the engine regulations, while Red Bull also brought seven new parts to the track. Verstappen qualified second, 0.166s behind Lando Norris, before an early spin in the grand prix put him on the back foot. He finished P5.

Schiff reckons as long as Red Bull continues to improve, Verstappen won’t look elsewhere.

She told the Up To Speed podcast: “I think the way that they [Red Bull] were looking like at the beginning of the season, then maybe he would have been starting to think: ‘OK, how do we make this work? Or can we make this work?’

“Because we know that they’ve been having conversations in the background.

“But things are looking on the up and I know that Max has said on a number of occasions that if things are going well at Red Bull, he doesn’t have any desire to leave

“I think the pressure is more so on Red Bull to make sure they do deliver and give him a car that he can win with, so that he stays to the end of his contract.”

But should he want to, former F1 driver Coulthard doesn’t believe Mercedes would be the right team for the Dutch racer.

As Verstappen continues to delve into endurance racing through GT3 events, including the upcoming 24 Hours of Nürburgring, Coulthard reckons it is Ferrari who would be a “shoo-in” for the 28-year-old.

“I think that Max actually, as a shoo-in, fits better to the Ferrari world than the Mercedes world,” he said.

“I know that they have this good relationship and I know that he’s racing a Mercedes in the GT3 events that he does.

“But the freedom to be Max, I think would be a more comfortable fit at Ferrari because you would just turn up, drive quickly, presumably win the races and then head home.”

Ferrari’s current line-up is Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with the Monegasque driver under contract for 2027 having signed a multi-year extension while Hamilton reportedly has an option for a third season.

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