Irvine wants Max Verstappen to Ferrari as critical Lewis Hamilton mistake claimed

Former Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine desperately wants to see Max Verstappen make the move from Red Bull to Ferrari.

However, he stresses that Verstappen must not wait too long to make that decision, and risk arriving at Ferrari “too old”, which he believes has happened with Lewis Hamilton.

Eddie Irvine warns Max Verstappen against Lewis Hamilton mistake

Hamilton, at 40 years old, arrived at Ferrari to great fanfare, as Formula 1’s most successful team and driver aligned. Alas, the partnership has thus far failed to deliver, with Hamilton sat 46 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc in the Drivers’ Championship. Hamilton is yet to finish on the podium with Ferrari.

Eddie Irvine – four times a grand prix winner with Ferrari – is very clear on where he believes the problem lies.

“Problem with Lewis, he came a bit too old,” Irvine bluntly told Sky F1. “But he won seven World Championships, so there’s always a price.”

Irvine would “love” to see reigning four-time World Champion Verstappen join Ferrari, and believes the Dutchman could create a similar impact to that of Michael Schumacher, Irvine viewing both drivers as the unmatched class of their time.

After winning his first two World Championships with Benetton, Schumacher became a Ferrari and F1 icon, winning five further titles as a Ferrari driver, his tally of seven overall matched by Hamilton back in 2020.

But, Irvine stressed that Verstappen cannot wait until age catches up, like it did with Hamilton.

“It’s very difficult, Ferrari, because they’re on their own in Italy,” said Irvine. “The British teams are all surrounded by other teams, and there’s cross pollination. It’s so much different, more difficult to be on your own down in Maranello. That’s it. It’s always more difficult for Ferrari.

“They have the image, they have the history, they have everything except they don’t have that cross pollination, and that’s really tough.

“Back in my day, you had Michael come, he was seen as by far the fastest driver. Because of that, Rory Byrne came, Ross [Brawn] came, and that whole team was built around the fact that Michael was another world.

“A bit like Verstappen is now, where if Verstappen went somewhere, he could take a lot of people. Without the whole system together, everyone’s, you know, at the same level. It’s tough, Formula 1’s tough.

“Michael gave up a lot, like Michael probably gave up two, three, maybe even more world championships to leave Benetton to go [to Ferrari]. Because the first few years, people have no idea how bad it was at Ferrari. Michael, he knew there was no point for him. He was so much better than everyone else. He just decided, ‘I’m going to go there. I’m going to see what I can do,’ which was amazing.

“And he got there. But people forget, it took four years. He was always in the vicinity, but it was just, you could see he was driving the wheels off the thing to try and be there. So it was very easy for it not to happen.

“I would love Verstappen to come to Ferrari. I think the two of them together would be sensational. I hope he doesn’t leave it too late like Lewis did.”

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Formula 1 last weekend contested Ferrari’s home race, the Italian Grand Prix, where Verstappen was quizzed on the prospect of one day driving for Ferrari.

The Red Bull racer did not shut down the idea, but said he would only consider such a move if he had the chance “to win” in that iconic Ferrari red.

Ferrari’s F1 title drought is ongoing since their 2008 Constructors’ Championship win.

As per Motorsport.com, Verstappen said: “They have two drivers contracted for next year, so there is no discussion. Is there a chance? Yes, there are a lot of chances in life for any kind of decision.

“Of course, at the moment that is not on the horizon, but who knows?

“I don’t even know how long I’m driving in Formula 1, so there are still a lot of unknowns for me.

“It’s always very difficult to know what is going to happen.”

He added: “All the drivers, they see and they picture themselves there: ‘I would like to drive for Ferrari.’

“But I think that’s also where the mistake comes, just to drive for Ferrari.

“If I would ever want to go there, I don’t go there just to drive for Ferrari, I go there because I see the opportunity to win.

“And if you win with Ferrari, that’s even better.

“And that’s I think where you shouldn’t let yourself get guided just because of the emotions and passion of a brand.

“You need to go there because you feel that is the right place to go.”

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