Max Verstappen warned against shock F1 move after long-term interest revealed

Oliver Harden 17 Oct 2023 4:00 PM

Newly crowned three-time F1 World Champion Max Verstappen.

Ex-F1 driver Christian Danner has warned Max Verstappen against a shock move away from Red Bull after former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo revealed the team have monitored him since he was a youngster.

Having secured his third successive World Championship at the recent Qatar Grand Prix, Verstappen has now entered joined the debate about the greatest drivers in F1 history.

The Red Bull star has won 39 of the last 61 races stretching back to the start of his maiden-title winning season in 2021, with Verstappen setting a new record for the most consecutive wins for a single driver in 2023 with 10 victories between Miami and Monza.

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A 15th win of the year at this weekend’s United States GP would see Verstappen equal his own 2022 record of 15 wins in a season with four still to go in 2023.

Despite the eye-watering numbers, it has been claimed that Verstappen – who joined Red Bull aged 18 in May 2016 after just 23 appearances for junior team Toro Rosso – must replicate his success with another team to cement his greatness, with Ferrari often mentioned as a potential future destination.

However, Danner – who made 36 grand prix starts between 1985 and 1989 – believes a switch to the Scuderia would not tempt the 26-year-old at this stage of his career.

He told Servus TV: “I don’t think the Ferrari is that important for Verstappen at the moment. I think Verstappen is in very good hands at Red Bull Racing.”

Danner’s comments come after Di Montezemolo, who stepped down as Ferrari chairman after 23 years in September 2014, revealed the team have closely tracked the career of Verstappen, son of former F1 star Jos, since his first steps on the racing ladder.

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In an interview with Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport, Di Monetezmolo explained Ferrari have followed Verstappen “since he drove in karting championships” and confessed to be an admirer of the 26-year-old and especially his dislike of “overly complicated regulations.”

Despite his close ties to Ferrari, the 76-year-old admitted that Ferrari would not be a viable option for Verstappen currently, revealing he is no fan of the way the team have developed since his departure almost a decade ago.

Ferrari are the only team other than Red Bull to win a race in 2023 thanks to Carlos Sainz’s triumph in Singapore, but Di Montezemolo feels expectations and standards have slipped at Maranello over recent years – and insisted the team must look to improve the car before upgrading the driver lineup with a signing of Verstappen’s calibre.

“I don’t like where Ferrari is today,” he added. “I don’t like to exult over a third place that, for me, was a defeat.

“The drivers? I think they are the least of the problems, the problem is the car.”